One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
LAPD Diver Goes Headfirst Into La Brea Tar Pits
The La Brea Tar Pits (Photo by joe_is_here via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr)
In an attempt to recover evidence from a 2011 murder, an LAPD diver sprang boldly and deftly straight into the La Brea tar pits yesterday morning.
According to ABC 7, David Mascarenas donned a hazmat suit to delve into the depths of 17-foot deep sludge and look for discarded items, the details of which were not released by LAPD.
Mascarenas says that he could see almost exactly nothing while he was under, but that the dive was nevertheless a success.
"Visibility was zero," he told ABC. "I could pretty much not see my hand until I put it up to my face. We did find evidence that pertained to the police investigation. It was a high profile case that they were looking for evidence of that crime."
The LA Times reports that police used all technology at their disposal, including "metal detectors on land and in the tar, high-powered magnets and sonar to map the area. Video cameras were able to focus on possible items of interest."
The dive came to an end at about 2:00 p.m., but not before Mascarenas endured some bumps in the plan. According to ABC 7:
He admits his protective suit leaked and he got a little sick. "I am feeling better now. The contact with the chemicals and the fumes, the methane gas, and so forth, caused me to get a little dizzy and a little lightheaded, but I had to focus on my mission."
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
