By Adam Rice, of the LA Anti-Eviction Campaign. Originally published on the OLA Tumblr here

At 4:30 am on December 27, 2012, over 200 members of “Law Enforcement”, including some 50 LA county sheriffs deputies, and more than 150 LAPD officers descended on 14620 Leadwell St. in Van Nuys. They brought with them the implied violence of firearms, armored vehicles, tear gas, and full riot gear, all to throw one family out into the street and end the longest post-eviction foreclosure defense in California history.

That morning, on Sherman way and Van Nuys blvd., one block away from the Hernandez home, a homeless woman was set on fire at the bus bench that had been her spot for years. Even though 200 sworn officers were just down the block, a civilian had to chase down the attacker, and hold him for 30 minutes till the police arrived because the police were too busy with their eviction plan to make more people homeless.