MacArthur Park Update: Christopher Barret Johnson, a 42-year-old Culver City resident who works for the nonprofit People Assisting the Homeless (PATH), which distributes syringes to drug users at L.A.’s MacArthur Park and elsewhere, was arrested today on a federal criminal complaint charging him with possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. On May 5, law enforcement pulled Johnson over near MacArthur Park after he abruptly made a U-turn in front of them in his BMW. LAPD officers saw methamphetamine in a plastic baggie in plain view in Johnson’s car. Additional searches of Johnson’s person and his BMW resulted in the seizure of at least 142 grams of fentanyl and nearly 46 grams of methamphetamine. If convicted, Johnson faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison and a maximum of 40 years. His initial appearance is expected tomorrow afternoon at the Roybal Federal Building in DTLA. Residents and businesses in MacArthur Park and elsewhere have long complained about the wisdom of distributing syringes to homeless drug addicts where law-abiding citizens live and work. They call these policies “harm reduction.” I consider them “harm enabling.” Giving drug-addicted users needles to shoot up meth and fentanyl is never a good idea.
