Topic: City Hall

General Services Police violates brown act in City Hall

On Frebruary 5th, 2013, members of the Los Angeles Human Right to Housing  Collective were prevented from  attending a City Council meeting.   When the Collective members entered the City Hall building they were asked to show identification. The Collective representatives explained that they were attending a City Council meeting pursuant to the Brown Act. However they were told that they would not be permitted entry without identification. Also, group members were told that if they didn’t show identification, they would have to register their names on a sign in sheet, which is a violation of the Brown Act.  Later, another collective member was told by General Services Officer Fernandez and Officer Tofoya that she would have to give her name and show identification, and then would have to wait for a “background check.” The Officers claimed this was a new policy instituted by Chief Beck of the Los Angeles Police Department. The Collective member refused, and was denied entry so she could not attend the City Council meeting.

This “new policy” not only disenfranchises these individuals by denying them the ability to petition their government and take part in public discourse, but it also violates the Brown Act.