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LAPD Chief 'Very Concerned' About Proposed Cuts To His Budget
LAPD Chief Michel Moore. (Screenshot from Mayor of Los Angeles Facebook page)
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LAPD Chief Michel Moore said "I’m very concerned" about the proposed cut of $100-$150 million to his budget unveiled Wednesday by city leaders. But he said he's willing to take a close look at his budget before taking a definite position.
Mayor Eric Garcetti said he wants to find that amount of money to take out of the LAPD's coffers as part of a reassignment of $250 million to investments in black and other communities of color. Several members of the city council also introduced a motion seeking up to $150 million from Moore's department for the same purpose.
In an official statement Thursday, the chief said that large of a cut would be "significant." But “my first reaction is not to discount or throw away," Moore told us in an interview outside First AME Church in Los Angeles, where he had just participated in a meeting with Garcetti, Sheriff Alex Villanueva and others.
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"I think my responsibility to the public safety of Los Angeles is to first understand before I respond,” Moore said. To that end, he vowed to "look at every single dollar spent," to understand how it supports the LAPD's mission.
"For those costs that can be reduced or eliminated, I want to have that conversation," Moore said. The LAPD's budget for the next fiscal year is $3.1 billion.
A coalition of community groups and activists led by Black Lives Matter-L.A. has called for cutting the police budget by 90%. Moore called that unrealistic.
“I don't see how that’s accomplished within the current framework of our government and with public safety," he said, while reiterating his willingness to engage in a dialogue with Black Lives Matter over the funding issue.
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