estrict the use of tear gas at protests<\/a>.<\/p>\nThe plan, hatched by socialist councimembers, aims to change how many officers are hired, how resources are deployed, what tactics are allowed, and how the department\u2019s multibillion-dollar budget is spent.<\/p>\n
The police union has slammed the move saying it would \u201cde-police\u2019\u2019 Los Angeles.<\/p>\n\n<\/aside>\n\u201cThe last thing Los Angeles needs is for the DSA-LA clown car to crash into the LAPD so the defund and abolish the police passengers can spill out and start enacting their de-policing agenda,\u201d LAPD union spokesman Tom Saggau told The Post.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat they have proposed is not reform, but the elimination of civilian oversight of the LAPD, which is the scary reality of their true intentions.\u201d<\/p>\n
The plan started to take shape after a key vote at the Los Angeles Charter Reform Commission several months ago.<\/p>\nThe council members, including fellow DSA lefty Eunisses Hernandez and Nithya Raman, want to meddle in the way cops can act on a daily basis. REUTERS<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nCouncilmember Hugo Soto-Mart\u00ednez asked the 13-member panel to rewrite the city charter, essentially the city\u2019s constitution, so lawmakers could override the Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners.<\/p>\n
The plan is being driven by some of City Hall\u2019s most hardline, extreme councilmembers including Eunisses Hernandez.<\/p>\n
Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez has repeatedly voted against police funding increases, pushed to siphon money out of the LAPD, and even backed efforts to disarm officers inside City Hall.<\/p>\n
Hugo Soto-Mart\u00ednez and mayoral hopeful Nithya Raman have opposed boosting the department\u2019s budget and pushed to shrink its role, while Ysabel Jurado was caught on tape just weeks before taking office saying \u201cf\u2014 the police.\u201d<\/p>\n
But the move could also pave the way for far more consequential changes, such as how many officers there are and what the department\u2019s budget is.<\/p>\nLos Angeles City Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez is among council member who want to want to meddle in the way cops can act on a daily basis. Los Angeles Times via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nLAPD Chief Jim McDonnell speaking at a press conference about Los Angeles crime data. Carlin Stiehl for California Post<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nIn practical terms, it would shift power from an appointed oversight body to elected politicians, opening the door to faster and more sweeping changes to staffing levels, funding priorities, and policing strategy across Los Angeles.<\/p>\n
Pro-police lawmakers and cops are angry and terrified by the \u201cTrojan horse\u201d attempt, saying it could destroy the police force in a city that already has a crime and rioting crisis.<\/p>\n
When Soto-Martinez sent a formal letter to the Charter Commission in December, he called for the City Council to have overriding authority of the Police Commission over cops.<\/p>\n
He said he wanted to throw his weight behind new requirements for Inspector General Audits, protect protests, ensure First Amendment right protections and to allow the chief of police to remove officers with repeated histories of harm.<\/p>\n
The board met on March 24, with one commissioner saying at the meeting: \u201cIf council passes an ordinance\u2026 that\u2019s it\u2026 supersedes the police commission. There is no additional process.\u201d<\/p>\nLos Angeles City Council Member Hugo Soto-Martinez, in a blue shirt and dark suit jacket, looks to his left.Los Angeles Times via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThe motion was passed, marking the first green light the DSA needed to seize control of the city\u2019s officers. But the meeting showed some were worried.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is materially and substantially different,\u201d one warned, noting the shift would hand near-total authority to elected officials without the previous backstop of the Police Commission.<\/p>\n
Following the changes, the DSA members were open about their plans, with Soto-Martinez writing on social media: \u201cOur proposal is simple: Give City Council the ability to set LAPD policy through laws \u2014 just like we can for every other issue in the city.<\/p>\n
\u201cCommissions conduct civilian oversight. Elected representatives write laws.\u201d He later added: \u201cCity Council doesn\u2019t currently have the power to set LAPD policy, but that could soon change thanks to a the Charter Commission.\u201d<\/p>\n
The proposals have scared cops on the ground, with officers telling The Post the DSA will prioritize politics over policing. \u201cThey\u2019re trying to please the radical left and the left-leaning media,\u201d an officer said.<\/p>\n
The officer warned the DSA members were not educated on police policy or conducting oversight, adding: \u201cIt\u2019s going to cause a lot of issues.\u201d<\/p>\nLos Angeles City Controller Kenneth Mejia has been vocal about defunding the police and looking to push power to his office. Los Angeles Times via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThe DSA members\u2019 plans also do not stop at police policy, with them also trying to reshape how the LAPD\u2019s money is tracked.<\/p>\n
Hernandez and Soto-Martinez backed a plan to strip key auditing and accounting functions from the LAPD and hand them to the office of activist LA controller Kenneth Mejia.<\/p>\n
The measure would create a new \u201cBureau of Police Oversight\u201d inside the Controller\u2019s Audit Services Division, giving Mejia expanded authority to scrutinize LAPD spending and operations.<\/p>\n
The rollout would happen in phases \u2014 building staffing, setting priorities, and launching deeper probes into the department under the banner of transparency.<\/p>\n
The DSA members\u2019 power grab plans will go before the entire City Council. It will then have to go to the the November ballot, where voters would have the final say.<\/p>\n
The Post reached out to Mayor Karen Bass, the council members and the Police Commission for comment.<\/p>\n
The DSA-backed power grab is headed to the full City Council. If approved by council, it would then head to the November ballot, where voters will have the final say.<\/p>\n