Lancaster mayor defends controversial comments on giving the homeless free fentanyl

LANCASTER, Calif. (KABC) -- Comments made by the Lancaster mayor at a recent city meeting over the growing homeless crisis are sparking controversy. He said he wants to give the homeless free fentanyl.

"What I want to do is give them free fentanyl. That's what I want to do," Mayor R. Rex Parris said at the February meeting. "Do what?" an audience member addressing city officials replied.

"I want to give them free fentanyl," the mayor emphasized. "I can't understand what you're saying," the audience member replied. "You want to give them what?"

"I want to give them all the fentanyl they want. That's what I want to do," Parris said, doubling down.

"That was not kind," the audience member replied.

A video of that exchange at the meeting has been circulating online, stirring massive controversy.

"I mean, I thought people were intelligent enough to understand that it was a metaphor," Parris said in an interview with Eyewitness News. "But I don't regret saying it. It's brought attention to the problem. Hard-working families cannot be safe as long as California continues to empty their prisons and make these people homeless."

The mayor clarified that his frustration with the homeless does not include the mentally ill or honest people who fall on hard times and end up on the street.

"I do think that people who fall on hard times need help, and we should provide that help, and I certainly believe that no one should be required to go hungry," Parris said.

Parris says the City of Lancaster has devoted a lot of resources to helping the homeless. However, he adds that his controversial comments were pointed toward those who are let out of prisons -- becoming homeless and committing crimes.

"I have no sympathy for them. I have no mercy for them. The last time they surveyed the homeless population, it was 40% were in the system, meaning the criminal justice system, primarily because they were let out. And theoretically, they're on parole, but nobody checks on them," Parris said.

ABC7 talked to residents who are concerned about how the homeless crisis is affecting their communities.

"I don't know what the answer is, but it is definitely a safety issue when you have unhoused within your community," said resident Lyndsay.

"I'm not staying silent. I want these people out of my city, so I don't care what we have to do to make that happen, because the damage they're causing is just too great," Parris said.