A request from Los Angeles police chiefs to increase staffing and buy new vehicles in time for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games has been met with deep skepticism by City Council members worried about spending money amid uncertainty about the security plan.
During a one-hour budget hearing on Tuesday, LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell repeated a warning he issued months ago, suggesting that public safety will suffer if the city does not hire more officers to fill the vacancies of the hundreds expected to leave the department in the next two years.
Despite the recent hiring boom, McDonnell said the council needs to fund new hires now, so the department can prepare for the Olympics in time. Under the current security plan, the LAPD will provide about 2,400 officers, or just under a third of the total police force needed to secure the Games.
The LAPD is asking for 520 new officers in the coming fiscal year, which would increase the 8,600-member department by about 10 officers, out of a projected loss of 510 officers.
The department is also asking for nearly $100 million from the city to buy more than 500 new vehicles, as well as equipment such as an upgraded radio network, new computers and more than 1,600 body-touch cameras, for the Games. LAPD officials said after the games the cars will be used to upgrade the department’s aging vehicles.
LAPD Cmdr. Mario Mota told council members at Tuesday’s hearing that hundreds of new vehicles will serve the eight Olympic venues within city limits. The extra patrol cars and other special vehicles will allow police to continue normal operations elsewhere during the 66 days between the July 14 start of the Olympic Games and the end of the Paralympics, he said.
LAPD officials said there is a misconception that federal authorities will lead all security operations at Olympic venues. In fact, the government’s top priority will be protecting international delegations and protecting high-security areas, while the LAPD and other state and local agencies will be responsible for protecting the areas where many Olympic-related events are held. The LAPD will still answer 911 calls within city limits.
The US Secret Service has not released information on how many federal agents will flood the secure areas around the venues, which include the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Exposition Park and Crypto.com Arena.
Some LA officials have expressed growing fears that taxpayers and the city’s treasury could face crippling costs if the city does not enter into a firm agreement with LA28, the non-profit organization that organizes the Games, to ensure a “cost-free” event.
The federal government has set aside $1 billion for Olympic security spending, including local and state law enforcement, but has provided few details on when and how it will distribute those funds, amid concerns that President Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress may not follow through on their funding pledge. The exact costs to LA and other local governments are not yet known, as officials are waiting to hear from federal security agencies about what services will be needed.
The police officials previously told the members of the association that they think will protect him that the city must give money to the LAPD before the government says how much money it will pay back.
That uncertainty did not sit well with other council members.
“What is the role of the LAPD within the territorial boundaries?” Councilor Katy Yaroslavsky, who heads the budget committee, asked during the meeting. “The truth is we haven’t nailed this yet and it feels like we’re having two conversations – it’s confusing and frustrating.”
Some council members questioned whether the new vehicles in the budget proposal were necessary – and financially viable.
When asked why they couldn’t lease troopers or reuse existing vehicles, an LAPD official admitted those options hadn’t been explored — prompting an angry response from Council Member Tim McOsker.
Some of the concerns raised by the City Council have been echoed by activists and other observers, who point to the increased militarization of the LAPD after the 1984 Summer Olympics – when it received new equipment that some say was used unfairly against communities of color in subsequent years.
Security preparations for the Olympics have been going on for years. The LAPD has sent agents to Italy and France to look into security measures in those countries. But in other ways, progress has been slow. A few months ago, McDonnell quietly replaced the head of the Olympics department, Cmdr. Hamed Mohammadi, and Deputy Chief Billy Brockway.
“We’re going in the wrong direction as a workforce,” McDonnell said. In total, police officials estimated that 30,000 law enforcement personnel from various state and local agencies would be involved in security operations.
Mayor Karen Bass, who is running for re-election, once hoped to bring the LAPD back to 9,500 officers – its size when she took office. But during the ongoing budget deficit, he recently said that he is very focused on keeping the department small.
Los Angeles police overtime, as well as any other major spending, will be felt heavily by the new city government closed a nearly $1 billion budget deficitin part by reducing the number of police officers. The police union may try to negotiate for bonus, accident and pending pay for officers working at the Games when their contract expires next June.
The last US city, Salt Lake City, had a very small police department but benefited from federal funding and cooperative agreements with neighborhood organizations. Under California law, LAPD officials said, law enforcement agencies can enter into mutual aid agreements only after a state of emergency has been declared, such as after a natural disaster.
Many members of the council asked if the department had considered lobbying to change the law of the land; LAPD officials admitted they have not done so.
Some in the council also questioned whether the Department should do more to separate the administrative duties that may be handled by illegal workers.
Times staff writer James Rainey contributed to this report.
