Van Nuys woman says homeless man continues to camp out on her porch, refuses to leave

VAN NUYS, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A woman in Van Nuys is calling on police to investigate after a man, who she believes is homeless, continues to make a bed on her porch and refuses to leave.

Shacola Thompson, who lives near Sherman Way and Hazeltine Avenue, tells Eyewitness News the man has been spotted at her home at least 10 times over the last month.

"I'm concerned about my safety," she said.

She first realized something strange was happening when she saw graffiti on her wall after returning from a trip.

She checked her doorbell camera and saw that the man had become a regular visitor.

She said on Thursday, the police were called twice.

"He came to my house yesterday morning and tried to break in!" Thompson said.

Thompson shared several videos from her Ring camera, which captured several of those police encounters.

"Do you know this individual?" the officer asks Thompson through the camera.

"I do not know him," Thompson is heard responding. "I do not know this individual. He's been poking around here; this is the second time I have to call log him. He tagged my wall."

Thompson claims the man keeps coming back.

"He told the police yesterday that he lives here, and he does not live here," Thompson said. "I do not know him. I do not know this man."

Police confirm they have asked the man, who has not been identified, not to return to the property. They said they warned him that if he comes back again, he would be arrested. In one of the videos, the man is seen getting placed in handcuffs.

But Thompson is frustrated that police aren't doing more to keep the man from returning to her door. She worries that he could become violent.

"I just feel like they're not taking this serious," Thompson said of the police. "They're not taking my safety seriously. I live here. I'm alone."

"He could come in. He could harm me," she said. "He could bogart his way into my house. It's not fair."