LA private school forced to close over intrusions by homeless drug users, 'indecent exposure' around hotel

A private school in Los Angeles serving the city's Black and Latino youth has been forced to close its doors over public safety concerns stemming from the homeless crisis, a lawsuit alleges. 

Academy of Media Arts founder Dana Hammond filed suit over the school's closure, claiming there was a breach of contract with the building where the school was located, according to the Los Angeles Times. 

Hammond joined "Fox & Friends First" Tuesday to discuss why he felt he had no choice other than to shut down the school after students were exposed to drug use, nudity, human feces and even intruders.

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"There's a breach of contract and extension that the city continues to house.... over 400 of some of the highest-needs individuals, homeless individuals, that [are] suffering from drug illness and drug addiction," Hammond told host Carley Shimkus.

Dana Hammond says he was forced to close his private school in Los Angeles after there were intruders on campus. 

"My mom suffered from drugs, illness, which is why I started this work in terms of preparing students for the future of work, and it's just been intruders after intruders, indecent exposure," he continued. 

"I'm sitting in my office today at Third and Fig in our classrooms. Our students get the chance to see the... Intercontinental Hotel, but they also have to deal with individuals who are nude in the back, doing drugs in the back. It's just on and on, smoking marijuana in front of our school."

Hammond decided to close the school, which was located in the L.A. Grand Hotel, in January. The same hotel has been used in recent years as temporary housing for the homeless population, according to the Times. 

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He claims he found crack pipes and drugs on the property as well as human feces, which ultimately led him to the decision to shut down the school. 

Los Angeles school was forced to close over public safety concerns stemming from the city's spiraling homeless crisis. (Dana Hammond, 'Fox & Friends First' screengrab)

Despite the billion-dollar effort to get residents off the streets and back on their feet, city officials worry the homeless rate could continue to climb for a variety of reasons. 

Clearing Los Angeles streets of the homeless population had been one of Mayor Karen Bass's key campaign promises. Since her election in 2022, she has moved more than 21,000 people into temporary housing, according to the Associated Press. 

Hammond previously blamed Bass's handling of the homeless crisis as a reason why his school was forced to close.

Bass spokesperson Clara Karger told the Times the mayor's team had been cooperating with Hammond regarding his concerns, despite his criticism, through additional fencing, visits and cooperation with security personnel. 

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass speaks during a press conference at the start of the annual homeless count in the North Hollywood section of Los Angeles on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

Even so, Hammond warned he had no choice other than to close because someone was "going to die" if the current trend continued. 

"If we ask them to move... it becomes quickly escalated in a fight with one of our security guards," he said. "It just has been a disaster that we've lost enrollment, and then on January 10th, we had an intruder high on LSD enter our classrooms, enter our campus… Someone's going to die, and I had to get our students out of here."

In 2023, officials reported more than 75,500 people were homeless on any given night in LA County, a 9% rise from a year earlier, and about 46,200 within the city of Los Angeles.

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Fox News' Lawrence Richard contributed to this report. 

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