SACRAMENTO, Calif. — For weeks, neighbors in East Sacramento say they were terrorized by a man living in his van, using a small neighborhood park as a private restroom and livestreaming himself shouting obscenities at passersby.
"This guy was dangerous - is dangerous," said Ivan Azevedo, a retired state worker,
After a confrontation between the man and a landscaping crew and various other neighbors, a Sacramento police officer on Monday asked the man in the van to leave the area.
Days before he finally left, Azevedo grew so alarmed he warned his neighbors about the man on the social media platform Nextdoor.
The response was overwhelming. The post attracted more than 100 comments, with many neighbors sharing their own disturbing run-ins with the man.
One commenter posted a video from Reddit that showed the man livestreaming himself harassing two pedestrians and a man passing by in a truck. Azevedo confirmed to ABC10 that it was the same man.
"To me, I think this was a very dangerous situation," said ABC10 legal expert Mark Reichel.
Reichel said soon, Sacramento County residents will be able to call upon the Wellness Crisis Call Center and Response Team, trained professionals who are able to de-escalate situations like this.
However, the county service isn't expected to roll out until January. Until then, residents must be persistent in their calls to law enforcement and 311.
As for Azevedo, a Vietnam combat veteran who suffers from PTSD, the experience was nerve wracking.
"We just wanted him out of the neighborhood so people would be safe again," Azevedo said.
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