LOS ANGELES – A Los Angeles mayoral candidate, that isn’t Joe Buscaino, is calling for the city’s police department to go back to full staffing, and pledged her support because Angelenos simply don’t feel safe.
“Whether you’ve had your car broken into, your backpack stolen, your property damaged — or you’ve seen news coverage of home robberies, or violent assaults — more and more Angelenos I speak with tell me crime has touched them personally, and they feel scared,” said Bass, a Democrat who has been in Congress for more than a decade.
Karen Bass
Her remarks caught the ire of Black Lives Matter-LA member Melina Abdullah who expressed “shock” at Bass’ position. Abdullah previously told The Times she hoped President Joe Biden selected Bass as his VP, over Kamala Harris citing Harris’ refusal to authorize independent investigations into police shootings of Black people.
Black Lives Matter LA's Melina Abdullah said she is "in shock, and beyond disappointed" with mayoral candidate Karen Bass's public safety strategy, released this AM, that calls for expanding the LAPD, including restoring sworn levels to its authorized capacity.
— Elizabeth Chou 🌊 🏖️ ☀️ 🌆 ⛰️ (@reporterliz) February 8, 2022
Will the LAPD union support Bass over Buscaino?
Last year, homicides hit their highest level since 2006, the year that Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa embarked on his plan to expand the size of the LAPD by 1,000 officers. The number of shooting victims in L.A. last year were up more than 50% compared with 2019, the last full year before the onset of COVID-19.
The LAPD currently has just over 9,500 officers — about 200 below its authorized staffing. The department has 2,686 civilian employees, about 150 below its authorized levels.
Is the Black Lives Matter movement still relevant?
