The Los Angeles Police Protective League’s vice president told departing officers to find jobs where elected leaders appreciate their work and don’t hate them in a since-deleted June Facebook post, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Jerretta Sandoz made the comments briefly before the expiration of the Los Angeles Police Department’s (LAPD) contract in June, expressing frustration with the City Council and the contract arbitration process, according to the LA Times. The LAPD has lost about 1,000 officers since 2019, about a tenth of its force. (RELATED: LA Has Spent Billions To Fix Its Homeless Problem — It Doesn’t Seem To Be Working)
A proposed contract deal will likely be reached by August, Los Angeles City Council President Paul Krekorian said last week, according to the LA Times. The contract will aim to address the police force’s officer retention problems.
“Go somewhere that respects the work you do and you don’t have to beg for a great contract,” she wrote, according to the LA Times. “Go somewhere that has a city council or city manager that openly acknowledges the great work you do, go somewhere that doesn’t have Two or more City Council members who hate you (no exaggeration).”
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 11: Los Angeles police officers wave while participating in the 2023 LA Pride Parade in Hollywood on June 11, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
A union spokesman reiterated Sandoz’ concerns about city council member’s attitudes toward police and other problems facing officers in comments to the Daily Caller News Foundation.
“She encouraged those leaving the LAPD to go where there weren’t Councilmembers wanting to abolish the police and filled with hate toward law enforcement,” he said. “We are down over 1,000 officers and we keep losing officers due to low pay, increased workload, and the public hate from anti police fringe groups. We also suffered a major data breach that expose the personal information and photos of every officer, even those working undercover. They are posted on a website and our officers are being harassed.”
The Los Angeles police chief banned the display of the thin blue line flag on police uniforms, police cars and police station lobbies in January, arguing that the pro-police symbol had been coopted by “extremist groups” to push “undemocratic, racist, and bigoted views,” according to NBC Los Angeles.
Violent crime has skyrocketed in recent years under the tenure of District Attorney George Gascon, who was elected in fall 2020 with more than $2.5 million in support from left-wing megadonor George Soros. Homicides in Los Angeles rose 45% from 2019 to 2022, and the city has struggled with rampant homelessness that continues to grow more prevalent despite spending billions of dollars attempting to combat the crisis.
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