LA officials call for more police in park

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LOS ANGELES, Sept. 28 (UPI) -- The fatal shooting of a teenager in a Los Angeles park has prompted city officials to demand increased police presence in the park.

Los Angeles City Councilman Bernard C. Parks called for more LAPD presence in South Los Angeles' Harvard Park after 19-year-old Patrick Caruthers was fatally shot there Tuesday afternoon, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Police say Caruthers may have been mistaken for mistaken for a gang member.

"A highly visible police presence will be welcomed at the faculty, as concerned community members gather for upcoming vigils and a weekend remembrance of Patrick," Parks wrote in the letter to LAPD Chief Charlie Beck.

Parks said the park, which has little security and no surveillance cameras, has been taken over by Blood gang members.

If the park had security cameras, police may have leads to work from in the Caruthers shooting, Parks said.

"I am asking you to continue assisting my office in our ongoing effort to wrestle this park away from the clutches of street gangs and deliver it back to the community where it belongs," he said.