$20M LAPD botched fireworks explosion settlement could be approved

** $20M LAPD botched fireworks explosion settlement approved by city **

The City Council is expected to consider a settlement Tuesday with people impacted by the Los Angeles Police Department's botched fireworks disposal in South Los Angeles in 2021.

On June 30, 2021, bomb technicians overloaded the total containment vessel with homemade fireworks and it ruptured. Residents whose homes and cars were damaged in the explosion have been forced to stay in hotels since.

A total of 17 people were injured, 35 properties were damaged, and more than 80 people were displaced .

City Controller Kenneth Mejia reported in November 2023 that the explosion had cost the city $9.5 million, and another $1.7 million had been committed but unspent.

Now, KNX News has learned the proposed settlement reached with the attorneys for 90% of the remaining residents is in the range of $20 million. The awards are ranging between $100,000 to over $2 million for various plaintiffs.

Additional terms of the settlement have not been disclosed.

A statement from Councilmember Curren Price’s office indicated that after the settlements are paid out, recipients will have up to 90 days to find alternative housing in order to ensure a smooth transition out of the hotel.

The families, with the help of Ron Gochez, a community organizer with Unión del Barrio, gathered Monday on East 27th Street near San Pedro Street, one day after the third anniversary of the explosion, to call on Mayor Karen Bass and Price to give them more help in returning to their homes.

Some of the families expressed their concerns about possible eviction from their temporary housing at the Level Hotel.

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"The honest truth is that if it wasn't for the residents organizing and resisting the system, nothing would have been done," Adrian Alvarez, community activist and member of Unión del Barrio, said. "In every step of the way, we had to protest and push and demand for the minimum amount of help for something that they didn't have anything to do with."

Alvarez said these individuals are homeowners and deserve justice for the emotional and financial damages the LAPD caused them. Many of these families are immigrants or are low-income, working hard and have struggled for decades to save and buy homes, he added.

According to Union del Barrio, the full extent of the damage is difficult to quantify because these families lost holidays, time together, a sense of security, and much more.

City News Service contributed to this story.

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