Los Angeles spends more than $32 million on citywide unrest caused by federal immigrant raids, and the overwhelming majority of costs linked to the tactical development of the Los Angeles Police Department and overtime operations.
As of June 20th, the total cost of the city’s response to the protest reached more than $32 million, according to updated data from the City of Los Angeles administrators’ office.
“The federal government’s violent ice attacks tore families apart, caused fear in our community, and even more smashed the city in LA,” city controller Kenneth Maya said in a social media post.
Of that, about 92%, an astounding $29 million, comes from LAPD activities, including tactical alerts across the city, executive overtime, and the development of riot teams in downtown and surrounding areas.
The second-largest line item in city spending is linked to the Los Angeles Fire Department, which costs more than $1 million.
The city has also spent $1.4 million on cleaning public property damages, with nearly $86,000 being spent on graffiti removal alone.
The $32 million estimate does not include future legal costs from the lawsuit.
After the 2020 George Floyd protest, the city paid more than $20 million in legal settlements related to police conduct, with dozens of cases still pending.
Updated financial figures have come at particularly challenging times for city leaders. Mayor Bass recently approved a $13 billion urban budget. This included hundreds of job cuts and deep cuts in urban services to address the nearly $1 billion shortfall.
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