On Christmas Day, paramedics responded to reports of a body floating in MarArthur Park’s lake around 5 p.m. The Medical Examiner’s Office ruled 57-year-old Fernando Delgado Garcia’s drowning an accident, listing heart disease as a significant condition.
It’s just the latest incident involving the lake, and MacArthur Park neighbors say people falling into the water is a frequent concern. Residents worry the city does not have any safety protocols in place to help people who go into the water. No staff at the park are trained to perform water rescues, but officials say most drownings occur overnight when the park is meant to be closed.
“Based on past investigations, it’s generally people voluntarily going into the lake,” LA Recreation and Parks General Manager Jimmy Kim said. “It’s not like, ‘Oh, I tripped over the edge, and I fell in.’ Very often, they voluntarily go in.”
Gurpreet Singh spends most days around the lake and provides naloxone, known by the brand name Narcan, to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. He frequently sees people falling into the lake accidentally or using the lake for recreational purposes that aren’t allowed.
“I think there should be a gate and security guards surrounding the lake area,” Singh said,
Westlake resident Morgan Tumu enjoys going to the park to watch people play soccer every day and recalls a drowning in 2023.
“By the time LAFD usually gets here, it’s too late. I don’t think there are any safety measures in place. No life jackets and, of course, no boats,” Tumu said.
Tumu believes people fall into the lake while they are under the influence and can easily trip into the body of water. Over Labor Day weekend, 32-year-old Jonathan Ortiz drowned in the lake, according to the Medical Examiner’s Office. His death was ruled an accident, but the coroner also reported “methamphetamine effects” in his body.
Officials estimate the lake is about 14 feet deep.
Kim said that when park staff encounter someone in the lake during operating hours, they are instructed to call 911 rather than attempt a rescue themselves. Staff are not trained in lifesaving rescues, he said, and emergency response is handled by the Los Angeles Police Department or the Los Angeles Fire Department.
He believes the proposed wrought-iron fence around the park’s perimeter could help reduce overnight incidents by limiting access after hours.
“I do think that that’s going to help curtail some of those types of activities, because there’s going to be a perimeter gate that basically closes that in the evening,” Kim said.
