LOS ANGELES, CA – Oh, those crazy Democrats are at it again. Plan after plan at the national level has failed to gain any traction. There was Russia, Flynn, Trump, Coronavirus, Black Lives Matter and now, it’s “Defund the Police”.
Los Angeles City Council President Nury Martinez this week joined that call to defund her city’s police department. There’s just one problem. Like so many Democrats before her, she had her own little secrets about police in her city and those secrets were exposed this week by a local reporter.
Spectrum 1 News reporter Natalie Brunnel said, not so fast, Martinez wants to defund the police, but she’s had a private security detail protecting her home since April 4th.
“The private security detail infuriated some members of the force when Martinez became one of the council members to spearhead a motion to cut $150 million in funding to the LAPD’s budget,” Brunell reported. “Multiple LAPD sources confirmed the units were directed to provide 24/7 security beginning April 4 at Martinez’s home, almost always staffed by two officers. As of May 6, we’re told the detail decreased to 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. with roving patrol checks overnight.”
#LATEST LA Council Pres. Nury Martinez, who introduced a motion to cut #LAPD’s budget by $150 million, had a private LAPD protection detail camped at her home from April to June. It was called off the night we called to ask her team about it. Full story coming to @SpecNews1SoCal pic.twitter.com/1lv5ctqQEC
— Natalie Brunell (@natbrunell) June 9, 2020
“It’s kind of ironic. Here she is demanding $150 million be reallocated from the police budget, but yet she has security at her house by the Los Angeles Police Department,” said Detective Jamie McBride, head of the LAPD union.
Martinez said units were stationed at her home because of threats she received. Police disputed that claim stating that if threats were made, police would have been positioned outside her home without the personal request.
Below is a statement by the LAPD Union:
Los Angeles Council President Nury Martinez has failed the true test of leadership; the ability to bring Angelenos together to problem solve and heal after the tragic killing of George Floyd. Rather than creating a space to come together and have the necessary and difficult dialogue on how best to move our city and nation forward, all we got was a Tweet aimed at creating a deeper division between our police officers and the community we serve.
A true leader unites, not divides. A leader talks, not Tweets. To declare that the work police officers perform, that we’ve been directed to do, is designed to harm people of color while Ms. Martinez repeatedly sends us into harm’s way is divisive, disrespectful, and certainly is no profile in courage. If Ms. Martinez truly believes that the police department is the cause of our city’s pain, then why did she run for re-election on a platform of expanding public safety?
Ms. Martinez and her colleagues that signed this motion are spewing words that only work to marginalize and dehumanize the police officers who serve our community. It is not productive, and it’s offensive. We expressed our genuine disgust and outrage at the murder of George Floyd. We’ve advocated for the overhaul of use of force training and policies across the state.
We have been a willing partner each and every time a city leader has asked us to come to the table and provide solutions. We have proven that we can step up and tackle the challenges this city faces collaboratively.
We deserved to be treated better than political cover for a politician looking to blame instead of working together. Over the last week, Los Angeles police officers have stood on the front lines being deliberately assaulted and attacked with frozen water bottles, cinder blocks, rocks, and urine-filled bottles to help prevent our city from literally burning to the ground. We have been asked to do the nearly impossible to protect the first amendment rights of the public so that their legitimate grievances could be aired to literally the entire world.
Our officers have done so professionally and with great restraint. From homeless outreach to crisis intervention to battling human trafficking to protecting people and property through our last several wildfire seasons, this Council has asked more of our officers, and they have always delivered. We have one of the most, if not the most, professional police departments in the country, and our officers are held to the highest standards. We know how to solve problems. We have the same phone number that Ms. Martinez has called in the past when she has had a law enforcement question or concern, yet she chose to tweet instead of dial. If she calls now, we may be a little late to answer because we are working hard to support the men and women who have been trying to keep the peace in Los Angeles.