An unusual and increasingly serious controversy is unfolding in Los Angeles’ affluent Brentwood neighbourhood, where residents say a woman has allegedly been defecating in public spaces for years. What began as a disturbing sanitation issue has now taken a much more alarming turn, with one resident claiming the woman threatened to kill her during an encounter involving her daughter and dogs.
Residents say they have repeatedly contacted authorities and homeless-service organisations, while Los Angeles officials have now sought help from the county mental-health system. Meanwhile, video footage has surfaced that appears to show the woman defecating near the intersection of Goshen and Barrington avenues, adding fresh attention to a situation neighbours say has been going on for years.
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Brentwood Residents Say Repeated Public Defecation Has Become a Daily Problem
According to residents, the woman has become a familiar presence in parts of Brentwood, with allegations that she repeatedly uses sidewalks, lawns and other public areas as a toilet.
Some neighbours say they have witnessed the behaviour almost every morning. NBC Los Angeles reported that Brentwood resident Wendy Kush believes the conduct has continued for roughly a decade.
Kush said she first mentioned what she had seen to a neighbour, only to discover that the behaviour was reportedly not unusual.
“I remember saying something to my neighbor who said, ‘Oh yeah, she does that every morning,’ which I thought was kind of insane.”
Kush also claimed that the woman sometimes sleeps in alleys or bushes before returning to the same area after waking up.
“Sometimes she sleeps in our back alley. Sometimes she sleeps in our bushes. And when she wakes up, she goes right to that corner, pulls her pants down.”
Other Brentwood residents have described similar incidents.
ABC7 Los Angeles reported that residents believe the woman sometimes stays near a homeless encampment around Wilshire Boulevard and Barrington Avenue and has reportedly been seen in different areas of the neighbourhood.
One resident told ABC7:
“She pooped last week in the downslope of our garage, right outside the gate.”
Brentwood resident Shawn Shayan similarly told NBC Los Angeles:
“She defecates on our lawn, in front, on the side.”
But the allegations surrounding public defecation are only part of why the situation has become increasingly tense.
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Alleged Threat to Kill Brentwood Resident Changes the Situation
For residents, the controversy moved beyond cleanliness and public-order concerns after Kush described an encounter that she says left her frightened.
Kush said she was walking with her daughter and dogs when the woman allegedly became aggressive. According to Kush, the woman began yelling, lunging at her and threatening to kill her.
Kush recalled:
“started yelling she was gonna kill me, lunging at me.”
She said the situation became particularly difficult because one of her dogs was moving slowly.
“I couldn’t get the lab to move because she was moving really slow. Luckily, I finally just started running and the dogs followed me, but it was really scary.”
Kush later described the alleged confrontation on the Nextdoor app, where other residents reportedly responded with accounts of their own experiences.
That alleged threat has changed the tone of the neighbourhood’s concerns. Residents are no longer talking only about repeated public defecation or the effect on lawns and pavements. They are also asking how authorities should respond when a person appears to be vulnerable but is allegedly engaging in behaviour that residents consider threatening or disruptive.
Laurie Seidman, another Brentwood resident, said the situation is troubling for everyone involved.
“These are the kinds of things that, obviously, nobody wants to experience in the neighborhood and nobody wants this woman out on the street, a danger to herself in addition to being a danger to other people.”
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Video Allegedly Shows Woman Defecating Near Goshen and Barrington
The story received another jolt of attention after video footage surfaced showing the woman apparently squatting with her pants down near Goshen and Barrington avenues.
FOX 11 Los Angeles reported on the footage, which appears to show the woman defecating in the area while pedestrians pass nearby.
The footage itself does not establish how long the behaviour has been happening or determine the total number of alleged incidents. However, residents say what appears in the video is consistent with conduct they claim to have witnessed repeatedly.
The intersection of Goshen and Barrington has consequently become a particular focus of complaints, with neighbours saying the woman frequently returns to the area.
For residents who say they have been dealing with the situation for years, the video has provided a highly visible example of what they claim has become a recurring neighbourhood problem.
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Residents Say They Already Tried Getting Her Help
There is another important part of the story that can easily get lost amid the viral nature of the allegations: residents say they have tried to get the woman connected with services.
Kush said she contacted 311 as well as homeless-service organisations in an effort to obtain assistance.
According to her account, one organisation eventually located the woman, leading Kush to believe that an intervention might finally happen.
Instead, Kush said the woman refused services.
“They finally found her, and I thought something great would happen. She’d get some help. And they said she refused services, and they couldn’t do anything more about it.”
That response appears to have become a major source of frustration for residents.
Seidman said neighbours have repeatedly heard that authorities and service providers want to help but face limitations when a person does not voluntarily accept services.
“We’re all very compassionate. They wanna help, but their hands are tied is what we’re constantly told. We’re also told that they really can’t do anything unless there’s an actual violent act.”
That statement represents residents’ understanding of their interactions with authorities. It should not be interpreted as a definitive statement of California law or as proof that police are categorically prohibited from taking action.
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Mental Health Intervention Becomes the Bigger Question in Brentwood
As the dispute has grown, the conversation has increasingly shifted toward homelessness, mental illness and access to mental-health services in Los Angeles.
Kush said she believes the woman needs treatment.
“We have a lot of mentally ill homeless people here that we have compassion for, but they need treatment.”
Mental-health professional Kate Miskevics told NBC Los Angeles that cases involving people who do not consent to assistance can be particularly complicated.
“I really feel for her because she really needs help of some sort, but unfortunately, a lot of the time, our programs, our outreach programs, are voluntary, and it does require the client or the person to consent to services.”
There is an important distinction here. The reporting reviewed for this story does not establish a formal mental-health diagnosis for the woman.
Descriptions of her as mentally ill have come from residents and from the wider discussion surrounding the case. No publicly disclosed medical diagnosis has been established in the available reporting.
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Traci Park’s Office Asks LA County Mental Health Department for Help
The controversy has now reached Los Angeles officials.
Los Angeles City Councilmember Traci Park’s office has become involved and called for assistance from the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health.
In a statement cited by FOX 11, Park’s office said:
“This is a prime example of the ongoing mental health crisis on our streets. We desperately need the County Mental Health Department’s assistance in getting this patient off the streets and into the supervised care they need.”
The mayor’s office has also notified the Los Angeles Police Department and requested that the County Emergency Centralized Response Center deploy a mental-health outreach team.
The county’s involvement matters because mental-health services in Los Angeles County are administered through the county rather than the city government.
The response therefore involves several layers of government and public services rather than a single agency simply deciding what happens next.
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LAPD Increases Patrols as Officials Seek Mental Health Response
One of the most important details in the case is that the claim that police “can’t do anything” is too broad.
NBC Los Angeles reported that LAPD said it had not previously heard about the repeated incidents described by residents. The department also said it was increasing patrols in the area.
That does not support the idea that LAPD has simply refused to intervene or is legally powerless to act.
Instead, the available reporting shows a more complicated picture: residents have sought assistance, city officials have requested a mental-health response, LAPD has increased patrols, and the county’s mental-health system is being asked to provide assistance.
There is also no confirmed report that the woman has been arrested or criminally charged over the alleged threats or public-defecation incidents.
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Why Brentwood Residents Say They Want Help Instead of Simply Removal
Despite their anger and frustration, several residents have made clear that they do not necessarily want the woman simply pushed from one part of the city to another.
Kush described the situation as evidence of a broader failure to provide adequate long-term support for vulnerable people.
“Very sad that we live in such a great city and this is how we are taking care of people who are in need of mental health help.”
She added:
“There has to be a mechanism in place for long-term care of the mentally ill, especially when they are homeless.”
Seidman similarly framed the case as one example of a much larger Los Angeles problem.
“She’s just one story of thousands of stories. This is not an isolated event in our city, but we can hopefully help people one by one.”
At the same time, Shayan questioned how public-order rules are enforced and why residents can face penalties for comparatively minor conduct.
“So basically, if someone poops right here, it’s fine. But if I throw something out of my car, I get a ticket.”
The contrasting comments capture the central tension surrounding the Brentwood case: residents want their neighbourhood to remain safe and clean, but several also believe that simply removing a vulnerable person from one location without providing meaningful long-term support would not solve the underlying problem.
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What Happens Next for the Brentwood ‘Serial Pooper’ Case?
As of September 5, 2026, the woman remains publicly unidentified. There has been no confirmed announcement that she has been placed in supervised care or otherwise removed from the Brentwood area.
The response now involves multiple agencies. Councilmember Traci Park’s office has requested county mental-health assistance, the mayor’s office has notified LAPD and requested a mental-health outreach response, and LAPD has said it is increasing patrols around the area.
NBC Los Angeles also reported that it contacted the office of Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsay Horvath about the situation but had not received a response at the time of its report.
For Brentwood residents, the controversy has therefore evolved far beyond a bizarre recurring sanitation complaint. It has become a test of how Los Angeles responds when a vulnerable person allegedly engages in disruptive public behaviour, is accused of threatening a resident and reportedly declines voluntary services.
The immediate challenge is finding an intervention that addresses residents’ safety concerns while also providing the woman with appropriate care.
Whether that ultimately comes through county mental-health outreach, additional law-enforcement involvement, voluntary services or another intervention remains to be seen.
More Ongoing Situations Without a Clear Resolution Yet: A story that ends with several agencies now involved but no confirmed outcome is a familiar place for developing local stories to sit. For more, read our report on Everest Base Camp’s new environmental warning as human activity adds heat to the glacier.
Disclaimer
This article is based on a thorough review of the reporting and information provided by FOX 11 Los Angeles, NBC Los Angeles, ABC7 Los Angeles and BroBible, with information reflected as available through September 5, 2026. The woman discussed in this article has not been publicly identified. Allegations concerning threats, public defecation and other conduct are presented as reported by residents and local news organisations and have not been independently established as facts in this article. No criminal conviction or formal mental-health diagnosis has been established in the sources reviewed. Statements from residents regarding what authorities can or cannot do reflect their reported understanding and should not be treated as definitive statements of California law.
Sources
Featured Image Credit: Kindel Media on Pexels
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