Los Angeles OKs $21 Million Settlement With Families Affected by LAPD Fireworks Explosion

LOS ANGELES—Just after the third anniversary of the Los Angeles Police Department’s botched fireworks disposal that damaged homes and displaced dozens of families in South Los Angeles, the City Council July 2 approved settlement agreements totaling more than $21 million with some of the affected residents. In a 14–0 vote, council members backed the settlements, which cover 19 plaintiffs—victims of the blast which occurred on the block of East 27th Street, one block east of San Pedro Street, on June 30, 2021. Some victims received hundreds of thousands of dollars and others upward of $1 million, according to court documents. An LAPD bomb squad botched the detonation of fireworks in 2021, resulting in a blast that injured 17 people, damaged 35 properties and displaced more than 80 residents. The LAPD’s containment truck in which the explosives were detonated was also destroyed....