Mayor R. Rex Parris is defending his controversial “What I want to do is give them free fentanyl” comment that sparked national outrage, saying his words were intended to draw attention to the failures in addressing unsheltered homelessness.
Parris, who has led Lancaster for more than a decade, did not mince words in a recent interview with the Westside Current. He backed his calls for “harsh” enforcement against homeless individuals with a stark image: a photo of an unhoused man masturbating in front of a childcare center.
“This is one of the people I’m talking about. He is sitting in front of a childcare center with children present… Yes, he’s doing exactly what you think he’s doing,” Parris said.
“How safe do you want your children to be? What is absolutely unacceptable behavior, and do we enforce it? I would suggest to you that that picture is unacceptable in any society, any place in the world. But it is probably going on as we speak throughout LA County. The fact is, I’m the only one wanting to do something about it.”
Along with serving as mayor, Parris is a veteran trial lawyer. He made the incendiary fentanyl comments during a February City Council meeting, responding sharply to a resident who objected to his proposal to consolidate unhoused individuals into a designated encampment.
The comment drew sharp criticism from across the country, including from columnist Tim Campbell, who called it “heartless and ignorant,” emblematic of a broader mindset that reduces the unhoused to criminals or freeloaders.
In a sharply worded column, Campbell argued that while Parris may not pretend to care about homelessness beyond his city, the impacts of mismanaged programs in Los Angeles have been similarly damaging. He likened both Parris’ proposals and Los Angeles’ expensive housing efforts to policies that stifle honest debate.
In his interview with the Current, Parris said his goal was to force a broader recognition of a hard truth.
“What I wanted was attention and recognition that we made a terrible, great mistake when we just refer to the homeless as one category of people. Because they’re not.”
The fentanyl comment is not the first time Parris has made national headlines. In December 2023, following the tragic road rage shooting death of a 4-year-old child in Lancaster, Parris publicly criticized Los Angeles County’s bail policies. Authorities said the suspects were booked on suspicion of murder, and Parris pointed out that one had been released from custody just a week earlier after a gun-related felony arrest.
“This particular suspect was in custody a week ago for a gun-related felony, and they had to let him go because of the new bail laws,” Parris said.
Parris also blames the state’s decarceration policies for much of the current public safety crisis.
“A significant portion of that population is homeless because they were let out of prison,” he said. “That’s a knee-jerk liberal reaction, made without considering the consequences or the ripple effects.”
Parris said some unhoused individuals in Lancaster are committing crimes near homes and shopping centers.
“I first became personally aware of how significant the problem was when, one week apart, at 5 a.m., people checked my back door,” he said. “It was terrifying — and I live in a gated community.”
While acknowledging that many people genuinely need services, Parris said his priority is protecting women, children, and veterans.
“Women are the most vulnerable out there on the street. They don’t even report the rapes anymore,” he said.
Rodrick Armalin, Lancaster’s first police chief, appointed in 2023, echoed Parris’ concerns.
“The mayor is right. There is a portion of our homeless population in Lancaster that does commit crimes,” Armalin said. “There have been arrests. Homeless persons have committed murders, thefts, and rapes.”
Armalin added that many unhoused individuals refuse offers of help.
“A larger portion than not do not accept services,” he said. “We’re trying to do things differently as a police department. We’re developing an area where folks who don’t want to come off the street can go and camp — but it gets them away from the houses and the kids.”
Lancaster created its own police force in 2023 to supplement the overburdened Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Parris said. Speaking about public safety concerns he talked about the incident involving the unhoused man at the childcare center. “They [citizens] call the sheriff’s department, it takes two hours to get there, he’s gone, and they tell them they couldn’t arrest him anyway unless they see it,” Parris said. “Now, for heaven’s sake, what do you think he was thinking about in front of that childcare center?”
Parris added that sheriff’s deputies were overwhelmed, often working sixteen-hour shifts while the department remained short by about 70 deputies. “They’re sleep-deprived and there’s no relief in sight,” he said.
The city has also embraced technology — AI, drones, and militarized surveillance tools — to bolster public safety.
In an effort to boost public safety, Lancaster has turned to technology, including drones and artificial intelligence. Parris acknowledged that not everyone embraces the approach. “If I have an active shooter at a school, do we wait twenty minutes for the sheriffs? Or do we launch a drone and take care of the problem?” he said.
City officials noted that in 2023, Lancaster achieved a 100% homicide solve rate, compared to the national average of 52%.
“If people want to paint me as a villain, paint me as a villain. But our people are safer than anywhere else,” Parris said.
Beyond enforcement, Lancaster has invested in transitional care. Kensington Campus, a facility praised for its cleanliness and amenities, is Parris’ pride.
“One-point-two million. Come look at Kensington. We built the most innovative, creative homeless center in America,” he said. “We took a deep dive into what’s keeping people out of shelters.”
Residents can bring pets, lock up personal belongings, and access the facility 24/7.
“I’ve been homeless. I understand a lot of what’s happening with these folks,” Parris said. “But they’re not my priority. My priority is the hardworking families in this city.”
Chief Armalin also pointed to additional initiatives: a Community Outreach Team, instant bed availability, and job training programs.
“We have a drone-as-first-responder system in development,” Armalin said. “We’re training officers in de-escalation and using real-time surveillance to keep the public safe.”
Still, Parris is facing a new recall effort. Former mayoral candidates Johnathon Ervin and Mark Maldonado have launched a campaign to remove him from office, citing his recent remarks as disqualifying. As of April 20, the effort had collected only a small portion of the approximately 20,000 signatures needed to move the recall forward.
“It’s all for naught until people recognize what kind of society they want to live in,” Parris said. “How safe do you want your children to be?”
“In Lancaster,” he added, “we try very hard to look at things factually, with the latest science available. We’re making great progress. But it doesn’t matter unless the rest of society wakes up.”
“When government doesn’t want to be accountable for something, they just don’t record it,” Parris said. “Well, we do.”
(Editor’s note: This story first appeared in the Westside Current on April 28 and is reprinted with permission.)