For months, a man has been pestering the residents of South Bay Beach City with offensive speech and vulgar language while filming disputes and posting videos on social media.
The riots disturbed residents and prompted few complaints to local police, as his speech was protected by the First Amendment and no victims came forward.
On Thursday, Hermosa Beach police announced that they had addressed unusual community problems: The man was placed in a mental health condition that could leave him on the street for 48 hours or more.
The man, who refused to be named, recently found videos posted on Hermosa Beach Pier, nearby streets and in some cases within the business using “vulgar language and vulgar Intuendos close to women.”
On Wednesday, the Hermosa Beach Police Department received numerous calls, and he was broadcast live on Instagram at about 1:45 pm in the Hermosa Beach Pier Plaza and Pier Avenue area.
“The videos that the person is streaming live include offensive and candid disgusting content,” said Hermosa Beach Police Chief Paul Lebaron. “The person is trying to seek reactions from Passerbys and the community as a whole, and they watched the video after the release.”
When the officer arrived at the dock, the man left and no one identified himself as the victim of any crime.
The man posted online videos that he was trying to elicit a reaction, but “no video portrays a crime we can pursue without the victims,” Le Barron said.
At about 3 p.m., the police department received another call about a similar harassment in the Pier Square.
On Instagram, around the same time, the same person was shown live until someone apparently took his phone away and the live broadcast ended. It is not clear who picked up the phone or what happened; officials are investigating the loss of the phone.
Police said a group of citizens surrounded the man around the dock square and the responding officer was able to intervene.
Once again, no victims stepped forward and responded that the personnel were unable to take any enforcement action.
The man eventually left the area.
The same person interacted with Redondo Beach police early Thursday morning and was taken to a hospital where he was held for a mental health assessment.
Mental health control is usually 48 hours, but can be extended based on the case, officials said.
“If he does choose to go back to Hermosa Beach, our officers know who he is,” LeBaron said.
Redondo Beach and Manhattan Beach Police Departments also contacted the same person, causing similar riots in their communities.
“Their investigation also shows that the crime has not been identified and no victims stepped up to speak out crimes based on interactions with the person,” LeBaron said.
The police chief said he knew members of the community were frustrated that the man could not be arrested for harassment.
“The short answer is words, even the vulgar and disgusting speech that this person is using, is protected by our constitution,” he said. “There is no actual crime of harassment, and if anything, we will certainly enforce it.”
According to the movie’s interaction, if the victim comes forward, the man can be investigated for the fight or provocative battle, intentional and malicious disturbances or sending offensive words that could cause direct violent reactions – police said all crimes are visible misdemeanors and do not lead to jail time.
Police asked any victims approached by the man to call (310) 318-0360.
“What we really want to avoid or encourage people to avoid is this vigilant mentality [the community] “The law needs to be in your own hands. It won’t help,” LeBaron said.
