LA has spent nearly $20 million in response to protests so far

L.A.’s response to the protests — and the violence and vandalism that followed mostly downtown — has cost the city nearly $20 million since the demonstrations erupted June 6, officials say.

The protests, which began after federal agents detained people they suspected of being undocumented at several locations throughout L.A. County, were largely peaceful during the day. But as night fell, violent clashes with authorities erupted and dozens of businesses and properties were vandalized, prompting Bass to impose a seven-day curfew for most of downtown.

Working overtime

The Los Angeles Police Department has incurred the lion’s share of the expense, spending nearly $17 million in response to protests over the past two weeks, according to a report released Monday by Matt Szabo, the city administrative officer. More than $11 million of that has been spent on overtime, his report states.

The expenses came as L.A. Mayor Karen Bass signed a $13 billion budget that included hundreds of layoffs and cuts to city services in an effort to close a nearly billion-dollar deficit.

But this month’s protests have not come near the costs of those that followed the 2020 killing of George Floyd, which totaled more than $40 million in the first two weeks, according to memo by then-Police Chief Michel Moore.

LAPD has also made fewer arrests this month than they did in response to the George Floyd protests.

As of Monday, the LAPD reported making 575 arrests associated with this month’s protests. According to a report by outside independent attorney Gerald Chaleff to the L.A. City Council, more than 4,000 arrests were made in the first two weeks of the protests in 2020 — with 1,242 of those in a single day.

While the department is reporting spending less on the current protests, overtime costs have been making up more of the LAPD’s payroll throughout the year.

Legal liability

Adrienna Wong, a senior staff attorney with ACLU SoCal, told LAist last week that use of force by law enforcement at protests has violated the law.

“We have seen evidence that kinetic projectiles and chemical agents have been used indiscriminately, have injured people that have been protesting peacefully, are journalists or are in a crowd of people,” Wong said, “and that seems to violate the express purpose of these laws.”

Lawsuits against the LAPD related to the 2020 George Floyd protests have been costly, and legal liabilities remain a major concern for Kenneth Mejia, the city controller.

Of 55 lawsuits against the city from the 2020 protests, “the city has since paid out $20 million with 21 cases still open to be resolved,” Mejia said in a video posted to social media.

Diana Chang, a spokesperson for Mejia, told LAist in an email that liability costs have been “a major reason that the City is in a financial crisis” even though these costs are preventable.

On Monday, a lawsuit against the LAPD was filed in federal court by the Los Angeles Press Club and the independent news network Status Coup, claiming the police department violated journalists’ constitutional and statutory rights while they were reporting on this month’s protests.

According to legal filings, the media organizations claim journalists “suffered excessive force and harassment by LAPD officers” and were “barred by the LAPD from areas of the protests where, by law, they should have been permitted access.”

A representative for the LAPD told LAist, “While we cannot comment on pending litigation or specific incidents described in the lawsuit, we can affirm that any reports of force used against members of the public, including the media, are thoroughly investigated.”

Property damage

Local and state officials have criticized the Trump administration for sending in Marines and National Guard troops shortly after the protests broke out, saying the move escalated tensions and fueled the violence and vandalism that came afterward.

According to Szabo’s report to the City Council, $1.4 million in damage had been caused to city buildings and property since this month’s protests began. Mejia said on social media that graffiti removal alone makes up about $86,000 of that amount.

A spokesperson for the mayor told LAist, “Mayor Bass has been clear that the bad actors who have taken advantage of these peaceful protests do not stand with immigrant communities and must be arrested and prosecuted for their actions.”

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