Los Angeles cops say the election of Nithya Raman could obliterate the city’s already struggling police force and harm public safety.
Raman, the socialist City councilwoman, won the mayoral election on Thursday, unseating Karen Bass.
The 45-year-old pledged to replace Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell for not doing enough to stop ICE from nabbing illegal migrants in the city.
She’s also come under fire for suggesting McDonnell and the LAPD are ”fascist liars” in a 𝘴h☉𝔠king video with an influencer that was posted to social media video.
During her initial 2020 campaign for council, she called for the police to be defunded.
There is no more urgent or possible moment to end the racial, environmental, and moral crisis that is homelessness in LA. Our leaders have finally been forced to listen.
The path is not complicated: fund services. Fund housing. Fund care.
Defund the police.
— Nithya Raman (@nithyavraman) June 12, 2020
Raman will face pressure from her lefty Democratic Socialists of America backers to gut the LAPD and neuter its policies, infuriating officers who claim this would lead to chaos on the streets.
“It’s going to be a nightmare and very, very bad for public safety,” one senior officer said of Raman’s win.
Cops and LAPD brass claim the department is “woefully understaffed,” with just 8,500 officers to cover Los Angeles’ population of 3.8 million.
Crime in Los Angeles is down in every category, with and officer-involved shootings having dropped by 53% this year.
One LAPD officer rejected Raman’s argument that falling crime means the city needs fewer cops.
“We can barely keep things under control as-is,” said the officer. “If she cuts the budget we’ll have nothing left.”
Raman has vowed to oust McDonnell if elected, despite his term running through 2030, and with important events like the 2028 Olympics.
Raman claims the LAPD has secretly shared 𝘴єn𝘴iᩚtiᩚvє information with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, potentially putting undocumented immigrants at risk.
“There have been reports, credible reports, that LAPD has actually shared information with ICE, including information from our fingerprint databases and through Flock cameras,” Raman claimed.
But McDonnell has flatly rejected the accusations, insisting the department is prohibited by California law from assisting federal immigration enforcement.
“I was out there,” McDonnell told The Post in a pointed reference to Raman’s happy hour drinks session as the city burned during last year’s violent anti-ICE protests.
“I don’t know that people who are criticizing us were anywhere near there.”
Jamie McBride, of the Los Angeles Police Protective League, issued a dire warning as Nithya Raman widened her lead in the LA mayoral race Wednesday.
“If Nithya Raman becomes the mayor, the city needs to prepare for Armageddon,” he told NBC LA.
“She won’t have to defund the police; police officers will just leave the department.”
Mayor Karen Bass warned during the campaign that firing the chief 18 months before the 2028 Olympics would be disastrous.
