Reports from Los Angeles indicate that recent protests against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which transformed into riots, have left the city with a nearly $20 million bill, a significant portion of which is attributed to expenses incurred by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD).
City Manager Matt Szabo communicated to media outlets that the city has accumulated $19.7 million in expenses linked to these disturbances, a figure he predicts will likely increase. The LAPD alone has incurred nearly $17 million in additional costs, with over $11 million going to overtime. Moreover, LAPD police cruisers suffered $240,000 worth of damage. The Los Angeles Fire Department’s response to the riots amounted to $1.2 million, according to Szabo.
The riots have caused more than $593,000 in damage to city buildings, and the expense to clean the streets is estimated at $523,200. Graffiti cleanup had surpassed $85,000 by the end of the week, a number Szabo said will rise.
“The city will maintain public safety, as the mayor and members of the council have said. However, this level of extraordinary deployment is very costly, and it’s the taxpayers who are footing the bill,” Szabo told ABC7. He added that these costs are “not sustainable,” indicating the city will need to dip into reserves to cover the costs of the protests, which took place from June 7-14.
On the federal side, President Donald Trump’s decision to deploy the California National Guard and U.S. Marines to quell the rioting in LA will cost the federal government $134 million for a 60-day mission. This decision was taken against the wishes of Gov. Gavin Newsom and LA Mayor Karen Bass, both Democrats.
James Comer, R-Ky., chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, announced he has initiated an investigation into the actions of Newsom and Bass during the riots. Comer, along with Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., criticized the LA leaders for their claim that state and local law enforcement had the protests under control, when the violence in Los Angeles continued until the arrival of the National Guard.
The situation in Los Angeles raises important questions about the cost of civil unrest, the role of federal intervention, and the actions of city and state leaders.