It’s no secret that the cost of living in Los Angeles is sky high. And one man has decided to practically move into an already inhabited home. Shacola Thompson of Van Nuys has been desperately trying to get the LAPD to remove the homeless man, but so far, she’s had no luck. He continues to return and make himself comfortable on her porch.
Thompson lives in the central San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles and is now sharing part of her home with a homeless man — against her will. “I don’t feel safe when I come out here and try to enjoy my coffee or sit and do my yoga,” she told KTLA on Sunday (Sept. 25). She continued, “I had to take up my rug for him not to lay here, but that didn’t stop him. I hope that [the] LAPD will do their job and take this individual away from this community. Take him somewhere so he can be evaluated.”
The outlet reached out to the LAPD for a statement, but as of Sunday, had not heard back. Thompson also spoke with local Los Angeles news station ABC7 about the homeless man who just won’t leave. She says he has been seen on her porch at least 10 times in the past month, and she is now “concerned about [her] safety.”
She discovered the uninvited guest when she noticed graffiti on her wall upon returning from a trip. After checking the security cameras at her home, she realized the homeless man made himself comfortable at her property quite a few times.
During one of her complaints to the LAPD, officers arrived at her residence and asked, “Do you know this individual?” Their interaction was recorded on her Ring security camera. She informed the officers that she has no affiliation with the man. “He told the police yesterday that he lives here, and he does not live here,” Thompson told ABC7. “I do not know him. I do not know this man,” she added.
The Van Nuys woman says police threatened to arrest the homeless man if he came back, but that has not stopped him from returning. “I just feel like they’re not taking this serious. They’re not taking my safety seriously,” she said about the LAPD officers. “I live here. I’m alone. He could come in. He could harm me. He could bogart his way into my house. It’s not fair,” she added.