City Councilmembers Kevin de León and Traci Park attributed the arrests and 2,000 pounds of recovered wire to their copper wire task force — dubbed the heavy metal task force — adopted in late February in partnership with the Los Angeles Police Department and the Bureau of Street Lighting.
The endeavor is the “most aggressive and proactive effort” to curtail thefts of copper and telecommunications wire, which have left predominantly working-class neighborhoods without street lighting and internet service, said Peter Brown, De León’s communications director.Standing next to the recovered wire — as well as the saws, bolt cutters and drills used to strip the metal from public infrastructure — De León said 60 of the 82 people arrested were being pursued on felony charges.
