- A decision to not cap property that homeless people can keep on Skid Row was announced last Wednesday
- It sparked fury among some who say it will 'only perpetuate the public health crisis that already exists' there
- Images from the downtown area show trash piling up as workers struggle to keep the area sanitized
- Rows and rows of tents line the sidewalks of Skid Row in the sprawling 50-block area, home to around 4,200
- On Thursday it was revealed a Los Angeles police detective has been diagnosed with typhoid fever
- At least five other officers are also showing symptoms and their division polices downtown LA
- Dustin DeRollo, a union spokesman, said cops who patrol Skid Row 'walk through the feces, urine and trash'
- In an op ed for The LA Times reporter Steve Lopez called it 'the collapse of a city that's lost control'
These shocking pictures from downtown Los Angeles capture the growing problem it faces with trash and rodents in a desperate city also trying to contain a typhoid fever outbreak linked to worsening sanitary conditions.
A decision to not cap the total amount of property that homeless people can keep on Skid Row was announced last Wednesday and it sparked fury among some officials who say it will 'only perpetuate the public health crisis that already exists' there.
That, coupled with the news a Los Angeles police detective has been diagnosed with typhoid fever, has sparked concern among LA's residents.
The city has now said it will dispose of sofas, refrigerators and other large items in the 50-block area of downtown.
But councilmen Joe Buscaino slammed the decision, saying: 'The settlement will only perpetuate the public health crisis that already exists in Skid Row and will set a precedent for the rest of the city that will normalize encampments.
'The city is sending a clear signal that we are turning the sidewalks in Skid Row into free, unlimited public storage, doing a disservice to the residents of Los Angeles, especially to those living on the streets.'
Images from the downtown area show trash piling up as workers struggle to keep the area sanitized. They are pictured wearing face masks among the dirt and grime.
Rows and rows of tents line the sidewalks of Skid Row in the sprawling 50-block area, home to around 4,200 homeless people, many in tents and shantytowns.
Some lay passed out in the street, seemingly from the effects of drugs as others are pictured lugging their property around, in search of the next spot to set up.
On Thursday it was revealed a Los Angeles police detective has been diagnosed with typhoid fever, a rare illness typically spread through contaminated food or water, and at least five other officers who work in the same station are showing symptoms.
In an op ed for The LA Times reporter Steve Lopez called it 'the collapse of a city that's lost control', writing: 'We've got thousands of people huddled on the streets, many of them withering away with physical and mental disease.
'Sidewalks have disappeared, hidden by tents and the kinds of makeshift shanties you see in Third World places.'
He called the city 'a giant trash receptacle'.
The police union has demanded better protective equipment for officers and called for the station to be regularly sanitized.
The Police Department said exposed areas of the Central Division were being disinfected and officials were reviewing the state's 'concerning' report that found health violations at the station.
The building lacked an effective extermination program and had 'rats/rodents, fleas, roaches, flies, gnats, mosquitoes and grasshoppers,' according to the state Division of Occupational Safety and Health's May 14 report.
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says typhoid fever isn't common in the U.S. but affects 22 million people annually in other countries.
It is different from typhus, which can spread from infected fleas and caused an outbreak earlier this year that sickened homeless people who live near City Hall and a deputy city attorney.
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