Bulldozer covers Venice Beach skate park with sand to deter gatherings
Raw video: Local authorities fill the Venice Beach skate park with sand to deter people from gathering amid social distancing restrictions.
Skateboarders in Los Angeles went to work Monday removing sand from a popular skate park that was ordered filled by local officials last month to deter its use amid a statewide stay-at-home order.
Armed with shovels, buckets and brooms, the skaters at the famed skate park in Venice Beach defied authorities to regain access.
"Taking the Venice Skatepark back today," read an Instagram post by Shacked Mag, a skating magazine. "The city let this skate park get destroyed, graffiti, garbage, broken glass everywhere....... Skaters want their park back. More clips in our Instagram Story."
TMZ Sports reported that police officers stood by and allowed the skaters to remove the sand.
Los Angeles Department of Parks and Recreation crews filled the beloved park with sand in April to keep people away amid the coronavirus outbreak and to enforce social distancing measures.
"We're doing this for our safety, their safety and the safety of others," Rose Watson, spokesperson for the agency, said at the time. "When this is all over, trust me, we will open them, but right now it's important for them to not use the skate parks."
The sand was cleared by Monday afternoon, allowing the rebellious skaters to use the park, according to TMZ.
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In Orange County, another skate park was filled with 37 tons of sand to enforce the stay-at-home order around the same time the Venice Beach park was filled. The action backfired when dirt bikers showed up to Ralph’s Skate Court in San Clemente and used the sand to catch air.
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