A woman identified as Angel is taken into custody at a media event on the Venice Boardwalk Monday. (Photo: Kate Cagle/Twitter)
A Los Angeles Police Captain was injured while attempting to protect mayoral candidate Joe Buscaino from a homeless woman with a knife.
Captain Steven Embrich suffered minor lacerations in the fracas that occurred during a campaign stop Monday morning on the Venice Boardwalk.
“I want to clean up Los Angeles while being respectful to the unhoused,” Buscaino told the crowd of more than 100 people.
During the press conference, the City Council member said he supported eliminating the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, a county service that aids unhoused people.
He also vowed to enforce a ban on encampments at beaches, parks and sidewalks.
Moments later, a woman identified as Angel, began moving toward him with a knife.
Embrich, sensing danger, proceeded to move in on the suspect.
Buscaino was not injured.
During the arrest, the suspect said she was carrying the knife for protection against rapists. She also called an officer a “disgusting asshole pig” and accused him of touching her inappropriately for pleasure.
The incident was captured on video and shared widely on social media.
Breaking: Private security working for @JoeBuscaino interrupted the event when they noticed this woman holding a knife near the mayoral candidate. LAPD officers detained her and you can clearly see the weapon in this video. Buscaino has been told it’s unsafe to stay here and left pic.twitter.com/tuLDRTZPWV
— Kate Cagle (@KateCagle) June 7, 2021
Venice, once a popular tourist destination has recently become the face of the homeless crisis in Los Angeles.
This morning’s incident took place just a few blocks from where another homeless person attacked a 70-year-old man on Sunday.
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