A vendor who was pummeled last month in a downtown L.A. attack stood side-by-side with local officials Monday morning, calling for an end to violence against those who serve up street food.
Video footage of the assault on Arabelia Martinez, 62, went viral, triggering public outcry over the incident. Martinez said Monday that attacks against street vendors have become too common, adding that the purveyors of bacon-wrapped hot dogs, churros and tacos deserve the same respect as anyone else.
“Let’s stop all the discrimination against street vendors … Enough!” she said in Spanish while tears trickled down her face outside City Hall. “All of us have the dignity to work. We all have the right to do our job.”
Authorities said Martinez was operating a hot dog cart near 7th and Figueroa streets around 3:45 p.m. on June 15 when she got into an argument with 19-year-old Harmunie Heaven Church. The teen allegedly punched Martinez multiple times, threw her to the ground and tossed her cart over, according to Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman.
Street vendor Arabelia Martinez, 62, speaks with her son, Jose Garcia, during a news conference at Los Angeles City Hall on Monday.
(Arwen Clemans / Los Angeles Times)
Church was charged with assault likely to produce great bodily injury, aggravated battery and vandalism last week, according to Hochman, who said his office is considering adding a hate crime allegation to the criminal complaint.
Martinez repeatedly referred to being a victim of “racial discrimination” on Monday. Church is Black, according to jail records, while Martinez is Latina.
Church pleaded not guilty to all charges at an arraignment last month, authorities said. A spokesperson for the L.A. County Alternate Public Defender’s Office, which is representing Church, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
An unidentified woman on TikTok, using the username Ladydope6, posted several videos last month commenting on the attack on Martinez and implying she was involved in the altercation. The woman claimed she poured chamoy, a Mexican condiment, on Martinez’s hot dogs because she refused to serve her.
The poster also alleged Martinez was the one acting racist and had thrown the spice tajín in her face before any punches were thrown. The poster did not provide evidence for their claims and has not responded to requests for comment from The Times.
Two of Martinez’s children spoke during the news conference and said this was not the first time their mother had been attacked. Shannon Camacho, an activist with the nonprofit Inclusive Actions, which has advocated on behalf of street vendors, said violence against street-level food workers is underreported.
The combination of a years-long fight to legalize street vending in Los Angeles and months of harassment from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has made workers extremely hesitant to cooperate with authorities, Camacho said.
Martinez and her family praised the Los Angeles police officers who investigated her case and called on fellow vendors to speak up when attacked.
“We must not stay silent,” she said.
