LA street vendors call for moratorium on enforcement against sales

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- From fruit cocktails to electronics to the infamous bacon-wrapped hot dogs, these are the kinds of things you can buy from street vendors all over Los Angeles. But the men and women who sell on the streets say the Los Angeles Police Department is trying to put them out of business.

Maria Vasquez says she and other street vendors are being increasingly harassed and intimidated by the department.

"They are not treated with respect," said Janet Favela, an organizer with the East L.A. Community Corporation.

At a rally Tuesday morning in front of LAPD headquarters in downtown L.A., about two dozen vendors and their supporters demanded a moratorium on the enforcement of existing laws that prohibit certain types of street vending.

"They're just asking for some understanding and a stop to the harassment, you know, to the confiscation of their goods that's happening many times illegally," Favela said.

Organizers delivered a citizen citation to LAPD Chief Charlie Beck, which was handed to LAPD spokesman Commander Andy Smith.

"We are not in the business of going after people that are selling food or selling items like that on the street -- that is the health department," Smith said. "We sometimes assist the health department when they go through and cite vendors."

Smith says the LAPD cannot allow vendors to sell counterfeit or pirated material. It also cannot allow vendors to block passage along sidewalks.

"We always try and get voluntary compliance, and generally we do -- most people are really good about it. They don't want to block other businesses. They just want to go about doing their business," Smith said.

Vendors complain that when their equipment is confiscated, they lose the ability to earn a living. But the city's health department says it's trying to safeguard the public from what are often unsanitary situations.

"The solution is to legalize street vending in the city of L.A.," said Cynthia Anderson-Barker, an attorney with the National Lawyers Guild. "A number of other large cities have legalized vending."