INGLEWOOD – Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts has done an “about face” on the issue of gun violence claiming the lives of innocent victims. He recently spoke at an event where the Los Angeles Rams partnered with Students Demand Action part of Everytown for Gun Safety’s grassroots network, to host a discussion about combating gun violence as part of Impact Day, an event to close out the 2022 Los Angeles Summer Leadership Academy.
When four young people were violently gunned down weeks before Super Bowl 56, at an unregulated Airbnb in Inglewood, the mayor was asked by the community to do more to squash gun violence, particularly crimes committed by Black people against other Black people.
Now he’s full of concern with his re-election months away.
“As mayor of Inglewood and former law enforcement, I am all too familiar with gun violence. While making our communities safe requires a multi-faceted approach, addressing the number of guns flooding our streets is a critical and necessary first step. I’m proud to see these young leaders from across Los Angeles rising to become leaders in this movement.”
James T. Butts
Some argue his concern isn’t genuine.
The city used to have a police oversight and youth commission but after not meeting in years, they were scrubbed from the city’s website recently after it was upgraded. The public has NO place to discuss issues surrounding our police department or youth to meet the “multi-pronged” approach the mayor is speaking of.
The City has a substandard teen center that operates out of the basement of the Inglewood Main Library which isn’t properly promoted to the residents, while the school district is hemorrhaging students, and more schools are slated to close indicate the city’s youth isn’t anyone’s priority.
Inglewood Unified School District continues on a path of the appearance of mismanaging funds after records requests continue to be prolonged to determine how much money is being received through the continuous development in the City and more importantly, how those funds are being spent.
Due to prolonged contract negotiations with unions representing the rank and file and management within Inglewood Police Department, the City has lost close to two dozen officers since COVID and there is no real investment in the City’s youth outside of backpack giveaways and photo opportunities.
The mayor needs to put more into the City’s youth and with Inglewood sitting on nearly $80 million in its reserves there’s no shortage of funding to make it happen.
