The city will pay more than $21 million to settle claims from many residents who were displaced but still staying in hotels after Los Angeles police blew up a South Los Angeles neighborhood three years ago when they set off a batch of fireworks.
Community members put up signs in front of the press conference.
(Jason Almond/Los Angeles Times)
On Tuesday, just days after the anniversary of the June 30, 2021 explosion, the city council unanimously approved a settlement for more than a dozen residents. The settlement will now go to Mayor Karen Bass for approval.
The city agreed to pay $175,000 to one resident, Lucia Gonzales. Rosalina Reyes will receive $1.07 million, which her family’s attorney said is only for property damage and does not include personal injuries.
But the largest settlement to resolve property and personal injury claims by more than a dozen residents of the working-class neighborhood is $20 million. The 17 claimants were awarded damages ranging from US$100,000 to US$2.8 million.
Los Angeles City Councilman Curren Price during a council meeting at City Hall on July 2, 2024.
(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
Curren Price, the city councilman for the ward where the explosion occurred, said in a statement on Tuesday that the process over the past three years had been “extremely slow, and on behalf of the City of Los Angeles, I am dismayed that it has taken so long to get there.” I feel sorry for it.” at this point. ”
“The victims of the 27th Street fireworks explosion endured unimaginable pain and trauma that will last a lifetime,” Price said. “Reaching these financial settlements is key to their recovery, rebuilding their lives, and finding stability and peace. step.”
Price amended his motion to amend the $20 million settlement and extend the affected residents’ stays at the Level Hotel downtown until February. He also expanded services at the Community Center for All, which has been providing assistance and resources to residents since the explosion.
City Comptroller Kenneth Mejia’s office calculated that the explosions had caused nearly $10.5 million in damage to the city as of February.
Mejia spokesperson Diana Chang said in an email that the cost of relocating displaced residents is $5.3 million, in addition to $2.3 million in liability claims, $1.55 million in cleanup and repair costs, $1.3 million in costs for the Los Angeles Police Department Containment vehicle replacement costs.
“The truth is, this incident should never have happened, it could have been avoided, but we are still suffering from it all these years later,” Price said.
Some homes on East 27th Street covered their doors and windows with plywood after the Los Angeles Police Department fireworks exploded.
(Alseb/Los Angeles Times)
Jose Bacerra at home in Los Angeles on October 27, 2021. He lives there with 10 family members.
(Irrfan Khan/Los Angeles Times)
About 42 residents still live in Level’s 13 rooms. The settlements will reach many of those residents, according to city officials. But there are still a number of outstanding claims, including another from the Reyes family.
The city attorney’s office did not provide details on the number of claims remaining.
Price’s office said families staying in hotels will have up to 90 days to find alternative housing once settlement checks are issued.
Price’s office said the agreement “includes provisions that allow individuals adequate time to transition out of hotels.”
Kenia Quintanilla, who is part of the larger settlement, said her family is planning to buy a house. But they are waiting until they receive the money to start looking.
“We don’t know where we’re going…but it doesn’t matter,” Quintanilla said. “Because I just don’t want to be in a hotel. I’m tired of it.
On June 30, 2021, the Los Angeles Police Department bomb squad discovered a pyrotechnic cache in the backyard of a home on 27th Street, but it failed to detonate. The explosion injured 17 people and severely damaged the house. More than 80 residents were displaced.
The illegal fireworks were discovered at the home of Arturo Ceja III, who pleaded guilty in federal court to transporting explosives from Nevada to California without a permit. He was sentenced to five months in prison and two years of supervised release. Ceja was not fined and will not pay any restitution, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Despite repeated requests from residents who lost their homes in the blast, the names and formal discipline of the officers involved have remained largely secret because of the LAPD’s secretive disciplinary system and refusal to discuss personnel matters. Last year, The Times identified the bomb squad personnel involved.
Among them is Det. Site supervisor Damien Levesque repeatedly sidestepped critical discussions about operational safety; lead technician Mell Hogg failed to weigh the amount of pyrotechnic powder the team intended to detonate, grossly underestimating it of its explosive power; Mark Richardson helped Hogg perform X-ray analysis of the explosive; Brendan McCarty warned his technical colleagues and Levesque that the plan was unsafe; Thomas Thomas Deluccia, who helped load commercial fireworks found at the home; Stefanie Alcocer, who was responsible for building the countercharge used to detonate the explosives inside the department’s “integral containment vessel.” Pyrotechnic, but failed in explosion.
According to the Los Angeles Police Department Inspector General’s report, bomb technicians at the scene believed the maximum capacity of the containment vessel was 40 pounds of net explosive weight. But the ship is actually only rated to handle 33 pounds of explosives.
The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives later determined that the bomb squad had loaded the ship with 39.8 pounds of explosives. This amount includes countercharges.
“I firmly believe that the LAPD has learned from this disaster and has taken all necessary steps to prevent tragedies like this from happening again in the future for the sake of our city,” Price said in a statement.
Times staff writer David Zahniser contributed to this report.
