LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – The Los Angeles Police Protective League says the union learned about the city’s decision to cut $150 million from the LAPD budget from Twitter and not from city officials.
- 227.4k Followers, 254 Following, 2,086 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from LAPD (@lapdhq).
- LAPD officials said an officer had been assigned home after his gun went off at a house party over the weekend. The headquarters for the Los Angeles Police Department is shown in November 2020 in.
- Almost 5,000 people, more than half of all LAPD officers had accounts on Palantir, according to an “LAPD Palantir Usage Metrics” document. The same document says that in 2016, those officers ran 60,000 searches in support of more than 10,000 cases.
The LAPD tweeted a statement on Saturday saying that it is “aware of allegations that an image was being passed around the department and this image was in the workplace.”.
Last week, the L.A. City Council introduced a motion to reduce funding for the LAPD by up to $150 million following protests citywide and across the nation over the death of George Floyd.
The proposed bill cited both the “health and economic pandemic” of coronavirus and “a social and racial justice crisis of epic proportions”
Lapd Twitter Feed
In a statement on the LAPPL website “emphatically” condemning the Minneapolis PD for Floyd’s death, union officials called out by name the City Council members who introduced the cuts along with Mayor Eric Garcetti.
According to a statement from the Command Officers Association, the union’s leadership learned of the plan via social media.
“Instead of reaching out to the Command Officers Association as many council members have done in the past to address concerns or advise of their pending actions and allow for the opportunity to come together as professionals to discuss issues, Council Member Martinez simply tweeted their intentions,” the statement said.
Martinez tweeted her support for the bill June 3, adding she wants the city to “reset our priorities in the wake of the murder of #GeorgeFloyd & the #BlackLivesMatter call that we all support to end racism.”
Today we intrdcd a motion to cut funding to the LAPD, as we reset our priorities in the wake of the murder of #GeorgeFloyd & the #BlackLivesMatter call that we all support to end racism. This is just one small step. We cannot talk about change, we have to be about change. pic.twitter.com/hR1tBAqwHP
— Nury Martinez (@CD6Nury) June 3, 2020
The union statement pointed to advances made under the leadership of Chiefs Bratton and Beck and under current Chief Michel Moore in the areas of de-escalation, implicit bias training, and community engagement.
Police are also warning such cuts could hamper criminal investigations and shortchange the community programs which are dependent on overtime such as the homeless initiative and sex trafficking outreaches.
Lapd Twitter Devonshire
“We don’t believe the councilmembers’ assertion that all Angelenos have demanded change within our department, and we thank the thousands of community members who have personally reached out in show of support,” the statement read. “We also don’t believe that our department should be placed on a platform of public scrutiny for personal and political gain by a handful of individuals who believe they speak for all.”
The city Budget and Finance Committee is set to host a series of meetings staring Monday evening on the proposed cuts.