Homeless Man Dies Alone Outside LA City Hall

LOS ANGELES, CA — As overnight temperatures dropped to the mid 40s, a 54-year-old homeless man died in the shadow of Los Angeles City Hall. His body was found Wednesday morning outside City Hall East in the 200 block of North Main Street.

Last year, more than 1,000 homeless people died on city streets, more than double the number of homeless deaths in Los Angeles just five years ago. The latest tragedy is an uncomfortable reminder of the crisis for city leaders, as a majority of Angelenos rank the homeless epidemic the most urgent crisis facing the city.

Los Angeles police said they received a call around 7:40 a.m. about the man, who was found outside the municipal building.

Although police had no information on a possible cause of death, Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer -- whose office is located in City Hall East -- told reporters the man appeared to have died from natural causes.

"It appears as though he passed away sometime overnight," Feuer said. "I do not know when."

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The man's name was not immediately available, and Feuer said it was unclear if he had any relatives.

Feuer, speaking at a news conference about the dangers of drunken driving, said the man's death highlighted the critical nature of the homeless crisis in the city, noting that "today we have to mourn this man" who "died alone at City Hall."

"As a city we need to do better than this," he said. "As a community we need to do better than this."

Feuer said "sometimes the statistics around homelessness become a little ethereal to people, the issues become abstract, and they're not. ... Of course, it really hits home when one of those human beings passes away in front of our workplace, especially when that workplace is the center of government for the second-largest city in the United States."

City News Service