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LA Police Union: We're Concerned About Mayor Garcetti's Mental Health
Jamie McBride, the outspoken leader of the union that represents LAPD officers, comments on Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti at a news conference Friday, June 5, 2020. (Damian Dovarganes/AP)
The head of the union representing Los Angeles police officers criticized the mayor in stark terms today over his proposed budget cuts, and for what appeared to be an about-face from praising officers' actions in his press conferences to calling them "killers" yesterday at a primarily African American church.
Speaking at the First AME Church in L.A. yesterday, Mayor Eric Garcetti defended $250 million in proposed budget cuts, from multiple departments including LAPD, by saying "either we say we are going to be, who we want to be, or we're going to continue being the killers that we are."
For context, First AME is is the oldest church founded by African Americans in Los Angeles.
Jamie McBride, the director of the Los Angeles Police Protective League, responded in a press conference live-streamed via Facebook, where he had this to say:
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"We are honestly concerned about his [Garcetti's] mental health, and I think that he should seek some help, and maybe have someone to talk to, a counselor or something, and reflect on some of his decisions, reflect on his ability to lead the city and keep the citizens safe."
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