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The state of California is finally doing something about the horrendous conditions of the Los Angeles Police Department's Central Division headquarters.
It's about time!
It only took rodent infestations, employees obtaining diseases, and multiple complaints.
But regardless of how long it took, the state is finally fining the LAPD for their work conditions and failure to train employees on the spread of bacterial disease.
According to the records, the California Department of Industrial Relations issued six violations and a $5,425 fine on May 14. However the last time the department inspected the facility was in November.
As well, the LAPD failed to train their employees on how the typhoid fever is transmitted, what the symptoms of the illness are, or even how to take measures to prevent it. There is also no program on how to exterminate and control rodents such as rats, roaches, mosquitoes, fleas, gnats, or grasshoppers. The records show that all of these insects were apart of the facility at one point in time.
Union director, Robert Harris, has spoken up about the conditions in the Central Division headquarters and has said they are "pretty disgusting". Both the department and union leaders have concerns about the health and safety of their employees. Harris believes it falls on the city of Los Angeles to hire outside experts to come up with a plan to sanitize all police facilities.
LAPD employees, he said, should not have to worry about contracting diseases at work that could be carried home to their families.
"We're trying to be a proactive partner to clean up these toxic work sites," Harris said. "Let's clean it up before we have a massive outbreak."
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