Communities are arming street vendors with pepper spray to defend themselves against the recent uptick in violence and harassment against them around Los Angeles County.
It has come down to this.
This reality comes nearly eight months after the city of L.A. legalized street vending, which was a result of a decade worth of fighting for the controversial permit system that legally allows street vendors to set up shop in L.A.’s sidewalks. L.A. Taco reported one of the first of what would prove to be a trend of assaults against local street vendors back in March, when a video of an unsuspecting elotera placed in a chokehold was posted on Instagram.
That violent incident, along with the string of recorded incidents ranging from the recent frutero in Canyon Country to a paletero in downtown L.A. has prompted some community watchdogs to step up.