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Today's bus netted several arrests and involved the DEA, LAPD, and others. And they say this is just the beginning. NBC4's Darcia Phillips was at MacArthur Park today and has reaction from people who live nearby. The LAPD, DEA, and District Attorney's office say the change won't be seen overnight, but they are committed to restoring tranquility here, and the raid today was another step in that direction. This is the DEA and the Los Angeles Police Department. We are conducting a joint narcotics investigation in the area of MacArthur Park. Operation Free MacArthur Park. Dozens of agents and officers swarmed the area making arrests and handing out citations to people who were openly using or under
the influence of drugs. I refuse to allow MacArthur Park to be a cemetery and that's what it's been because we have had individual after individual die of drug overdoses. The raid is a targeted effort by the DEA and LAPD. First assistant US attorney Billis saying today's raid was phase three of their operation. This is our third phase of this operation. And phase one was we dismantled the leadership of the 18th Street gang. Phase two was to go after the drug dealers and suppliers at MacArthur Park. We did that last month.
You guys saw that. And now we're on phase three. Residents and nearby business owners applauded the efforts, saying the drug use, crime, and overdoses have gotten out of hand and have been driving customers away for years. This is what we've been looking forward to. This is the third large raid that we've had with DEA and LAPD, and it's something that's long, long overdue. I want to see this park given back to the families and to the children that don't have a backyard to play in. Others are less optimistic, saying people who are arrested will just come back. And having raids during the day is barely scratching the surface.
This is nothing compared to nighttime. I don't know if you guys been down here at night time, but it's it's zombies walking around here. It's it's like an apocalypse. And at the press conference today, DA Nathan Hawkman said this Labor Day he will have a picnic in Macarthur Park with his family, promising it will be safe enough to do so. Reporting from MacArthur Park, I'm Darcia Phillips, NBC4 News.
