Chief Moore: Hundreds Of LAPD Jobs Will Be Eliminated If Police Budget Is Reduced

The proposal to cut the Los Angeles Police Department's budget by at least $150 million "would require the elimination of hundreds of positions," LAPD Chief Michel Moore told AirTalk host Larry Mantle on Friday morning.

Moore said personnel expenses make up about 96% of the department's budget and, "Absent any outside influence, [these budget cuts] would require a reorganization that would require the elimination of police officers, would require the elimination of civilian workforce beyond what's already been proposed." Moore was referring to cuts proposed by L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti given the city's diminished revenue due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Moore said he had not yet identified where these cuts might come from and noted that some positions within the LAPD are covered by collective bargaining agreements. He did not mention reducing the department's budget for weapons or other equipment.

Moore also said in situations where police officers have used force on protestors, if bodycam footage is available (not all officers are equipped with bodycams), that footage would not be released to the public. He said of those incidents.

Law enforcement personnel in riot gear face protesters in Los Angeles on June 3, 2020 as people gather to protest the death of George Floyd while under police custody. (FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)

Moore did say he would "commit to transparency" with the Inspector General and other investigators who have a "lawful and legitimate purpose for reviewing that video." He also said, "Individuals that were the subject of the force will have access as well to that body-worn video."

In addition, Moore said that the early data his department has collected suggests that 90% of the approximately 3,000 people who have been arrested during these protests identify come from the Los Angeles basin.

"In that entire spectrum, a very, very small minority, I want to say... about 10% or less, are from outside of this of the state of California," Moore said.

When asked whether he would support L.A. mayor Eric Garcetti's call for creation of a special prosecutor to consider criminal charges against officers, Moore had a one-word answer: "Yes."

Moore also apologized, again, for words he spoke earlier this week equating the death of George Floyd -- who died while being restrained for nine minutes by a Minneapolis police officer -- with looting and violence.

"It was a bad terrible choice of words," Moore said. "I regret it. I did not mean to equate the murder of George Floyd by the four Minneapolis police officers to those that were committing looting, those that were exacting violence, whether against police officers or against the burning and destruction of parts of Los Angeles. I apologized then. I apologize now."

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