Chief Beck and Mayor Villaraigosa Address the Troops

April 21, 2025 – With officers gathered for their pre-shift briefing in the roll call room at Rampart Community Police Station, Chief Charlie Beck and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa took the opportunity to speak on the City’s budget situation and reaffirm their commitment to public safety.

Flanked by Rampart command staff, Mayor Villaraigosa thanked the room full of officers for their hard work and continued dedication to driving crime down to record low levels.  He also offered a somber description of the tough budgetary times ahead and asked all for a shared sacrifice.

After the Mayor spoke and fielded questions from officers, Chief Beck addressed his men and women in uniform.  He again thanked them for their excellent work and offered words of encouragement as the Department begins to feel the effects of budget cuts.  To hear Chief Beck’s address to his officers, click here.

Comments

[Mr. Police]

Mr. Mayor,

I hear you say we all need to do our part in a shared sacrafice. Well last time I checked I wasn't the one spending or writing the checks for the city. When my bills come up short can I call you and ask you share in my sacrafice? I go out and do my job as a police officer everyday, I don't call in sick, I dont leave early, I go to calls and handle investigations even when I dont want to. I miss out on my family functions and special occasions. So for you to ask me to take a pay cut due to your and the city council's inability to do your job right. You guys as our city leaders need to take pay cuts, actually you need to take a job cut. You all should be fired, if this was a private business we would have folded by now. You have failed to do your job. You have failed to manage the city and it's budget. I have not failed in my job, look at cime numbers. It's not my sacrafice to share in, its yours. You made this mess, now you admit to it and except responsibility for it.

[In tha know]

Mr Mayor I see that you are trying to sell us a paycut by stating that you yourself are taking a 16% paycut. What you fail to mention is that you live in the Getty Residence. You do not pay a mortgage or utilities, you have a city owned vehicle therefore you have no car payment and you don't pay for gas or maintanence. I would gladly take a pay cut if I had those perks. Oh yeah you also make over $200,000 a year.

[Retired, Milked DROP, now Fishing, Life is GOOD]

the FACT is, if you place every officer in the field (do away with cush jobs), we can probably trim the force to 8,000 or less and still handle calls and investigations, keeping the city intact.

The City could save millions. Identify the slugs and trim the force.

When you start cutting away the slugs, you'll be surprise at how quickly everyone will perk up and start pulling their weight, and then some. They'll forget about this pay cut.

Studies have shown that if you cut down an organization, the remaining personnel will step up, becoming twice as productive.

Look at the Auto industry. A lean, mean, producing machine. Give them the right kind of motivation.

[Thankful to still have a job but still angry]

Is this guy kidding me? We already have no more cash overtime. That means no cash compensation for extended end of watch due to late radio calls and arrests or for call outs. For officers working the streets (esp SWAT, K9, Narco, Gangs and patrol) that is a HUGE paycut. We are asked to hold reports (including arrest reports)AND EVIDENCE until our next shift. Homicide dets are sent home on T/O's after a murder because of overtime constraints. We have been told no new equipment. More sacrifices will lead to even more sloppy police work. The citizens of LA do not deserve that! The mayor and the powers that be on the LAPD have ruined morale. And in case any citizen is wondering, when we are overtime, we are compensated in time. What does that mean? Lots of extra days off. I was at work 4 days in March. 4. What a joke.

[Ofcr. Smiley]

If you think morale is low in the Police, you should check out other city Departments, that has laid off many of its people. It's not just the Police, angry, it's City wide. It's a big poop sandwich and we all gotta take a bite. It's a sinking ship, there's no use crying about it. The Feds are hiring, other local PDs are as well. Blaming the Mayor is like blaming Obama, it's not their fault, it's Bush's.

[Ed O'Shea]

Hey Smiley, you had a good post until you failed to escape mediocrity in the finale sentence. If you're taking the intellectually dishonest, or just plain obtuse stance that all the democrat social programs are not the pork spending to blame for our financial melt down, then you live in oblivion.
Straighten up and fly right, little sparrow.
Oblivion must have the largest population according to the recent census.

[Mr. Elmer]

Let's face it fellas, the Big LE/Corrections party is winding down. I know it was great while it lasted. The biggest racket in history, if you ask me. Where else can a high school grad, C average, earn six figures? Instead of complaining about about "pay cuts" (100K down to 80K), we should be fighting for teachers to keep their jobs, God knows they're more important to society than cops/corrections.

[Ofcr Smiley]

Ed,

The last I checked it was the housing/banking problems that brought about the current financial problems. Deregulation was all Republican, the idea that if you leave it to the market the market will regulate itself. Obviously it didn't. Now everyone's in a bind. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan didn't help either--cept maybe for the private companies making a killing. Now the city's in a bind, some of it can be attributed to fiscal irresponsibility, but the Big Picture is Bush.

"Check yo self, before you riggidy wreck yo self" ~KRS 1

[Hanif Ochoa answers Ed O'shea]

It wasn't ACORN that brought us this recession, it was Goldman Sachs. I know FOX news tends to over simplify the issues. Now they're blaming immigrants in Arizona and Texas. When all along it was the boys in Wall Street. And they got away with it. To top it all off, we gave them more money, now that's a SOCIAL PROGRAM, Mr. O'shea!

[Ed O'Shea]

....Retired, Milked DROP, now Fishing, Life is GOOD... Please Keep fishing and at ease about what you clearly and demonstrably are to ignorant or capable to understand! It's MOPES like you that are unable to comprehend that we live in a different world than even 5 years ago, and have evolved as a Law Enforcement profession. Nowadays you have certain crimes and imperatives that specialization is necessary, IE SWAT, SIS, Narcotics, Gangs, Homicide, Auto's, Crimes against Children, Counter Terrorism, etc... So spare us your drivel and go bait your hook or something other than your feeble attempt to wax intellectual about what is needed and what should be done. You already committed a felony in your theft from the city in "milking drop" with your REMF position. So kindly go away, not mad, just go away and enjoy your retirement.

[sgt. gomez likes scuba]

hey Ed, you're familiar with LAPD's SCUBA unit, right? how are they deployed?

why can't they deploy other "special" units like SCUBA? you stage your gear, do patrol while waiting, something happens, then you're called, you pick up your gear, then it's high speed/low drag time. once a week you do specialize training.

simple. cost effective is what the private sector would call it.

everybody needs to go back to patrol, Ed. there's too many ofcrs hiding behind nooks and crannies, doing god knows what. get them all back in the field, where they can spread their expertise, instead of hoarding it.

[Pushing a Blk & Wht]

The LAPD fields the 2nd largest Air Force in California. Costing the city billions. Isn't it high time the LAPD looks into unmanned aircrafts which will cost less to field? If it works in Afghanistan, I'm sure it'll work in South Central. LAPD pilots and observers need to come back down to earth and do patrol too.

[Concerned Person]

DROP is a ripoff and those in it know it. Promotions are highly affected by it...something to think about.

[Ed O'Shea]

Sgt Gomez, you and I actually agree more than you might think. Quite a few units can and should adopt the "Scuba Unit" reaction model. I agree with some of what you said, but your part of the problem if cannot see that counter terrorism, for example, needs 24 hour coverage. You cannot leave that up to the divisional level. Having a "Terrorism Table" will only leave you with some bean counting slouch at the divisional level, worrying about the numbers shell game. And you cannot conduct adequate surveillance from a marked patrol car. That's a fact, that you, if you'd be intellectually honest about your experience, should agree 100%. The terrorists that are here in Los Angeles, and make no mistake Sarg, they're here and plotting, are here to kill as many of us and our children as they can! I hope you're not so , as a supervisor of Police, that you think terrorism is a false or exaggerated threat?

As for Officers hiding inside and the need for specialized units to share their knowledge and experience with the Patrol Officers? I agree 100%. E-learning is not cutting it. But to send everybody back to patrol is just not the correct thing to do. Now again, I agree with you 100% that there are an over abundance of Officers playing hide and seek for 2 grand a week, but not all these specialized units are pencil pushers. Some are operational, and doing tasks, that require the skill-sets they've acquired over a long period of hard work and time. Heck, I think we have FAR to many Sergeants out there with little to zero patrol time, but I doubt that the department will demote all the pogue Sergeants back to P-2's and P-3's in patrol. Are you above giving up a stripe?

At the end of the day, you and I agree that there are far to many LAPD Officers hiding inside and playing hide and seek for 2 grand a week. These Officers sat across the table at the interview and waxed about being a Policeman and are now reneging and failing in our most basic mission... To Protect and to Serve.

As for the private sector. I have managed a multi-million dollar store that is top two in the country in their area of commerce prior to being a Policeman. In the "private sector, 75% of the management from Sergeant and above here on the LAPD, I would have fired a long time ago for being incompetent. So don't think the private sector is the model you should be touting. Quite a bit of incompetence and mediocrity wondering around on this job.

This city deserves far better representation and protection than it's currently getting. And who ever is assisting/advising the Chief in the re-organization, needs to buy a vowel and make operational changes that work, not toss a bunch of ideas against the wall and see what sticks. Clear direction and an operational plan is needed. This re-organization doesn't need to be a bad thing for the Chief, but he is going to need to get some additional help in the planning, and not from most of the current brass, who are clearly giving the Chief B/O information. And some of these folks have much to gain if the Chief fails. Assistance and actionable guidance is probably going to have to come from our lower ranks. The Chief just needs to think outside the box, like Chief Gates did, and he will make this current financial crisis work for him, instead of against him.

Lastly, I'll quote LtCol. Henry P. Crowe, USMC Guadalcanal, January 13, 1943."...you'll never get the Purple Heart hiding in a foxhole! Follow me!" In other words, the Scuba Units reactive posture might work for them, but you NEED to be Proactive, not Reactive in order to win the fight. And sitting in the foxhole waiting to be called up aint going to cut the mustard.

Stay Safe.

[Elmo]

Police officers are good people. They should be paid good money.

[B&W; Op]

OK. Explain to us dummies how DROP is a ripoff, and who gets ripped off. Would you please, Concerned Person?

[Reserve deputy]

Mr. Elmer... (cute name)

Cops certainly deserve to make well over 100K per year... as do some teachers. You seem to be a typical elitist who feels bashing those who put their lives on the line to protect you from the bad guys is acceptable or chic. My guess is you would never have made the grade to be considered for such an honorable profession. Allow me to clue you in; Not everyone is fortunate enough to go straight to college after high school, nevertheless a large percentage of cops have degrees as well as advanced Degrees, or are working towards a Degree. There are many promotional incentives and/or requirements to further ones education, so before you jump on the band wagon that all cops are stupid overpaid thugs, it always makes a better impression on others if you do your homework and educate yourself to the facts on a given subject matter, so that in the future you won't say thinks that aren't accurate and just make you come across as a bitter person.

[Wes Buhrmester]

Elmer,

Teachers are indeed underpaid. And entry level officers do not make six figures, if you look at the employment section of this website.

And re salary, tonight, a car bomb was found in Times Square in New York and it was rendered safe by police officers and firefighters. I would submit those men and women are well worth $80k a year.

[Mr. Elmer]

The average copper with atleast 5 yrs in makes 80K to 100K, Wes.

Unless you're diffusing IEDs and car bombs like our DoD EOD in the 'Stan and Iraq every day, I don't think it's justified. And guess how much those EOD bubbas get paid?

If teachers are underpaid, cops are overpaid. The "what ifs" don't justify the six figures.

[Wes Buhrmester]

Fair enough, Elmer, but tell you what, neither you nor I set the pay scale for any of the aforementioned occupations, so we can't make a difference there. But I do know how you can make a big difference.

Join the LAPD, Elmer. Show 'em how it's done! They're hiring! Getting on the Department isn't like making it to the Dodgers or Lakers. Police officers are you and me, our neighbors, community members and co-workers. Initiate change from within. Someone has to do it. Got what it takes?

[Mr. Elmer]

I'm a 6th grade teacher, Wes. We just want some equity. For decades now Californians money has been siphoned off to LE and Corrections, leaving the more important schools to wither. We spend more money in criminalizing and imprisonments, than we do in our schools. The "what about bombs and bad people" argument doesn't cut it anymore.

What about all you six figures earning cops, help teach local schools in L.A. in your days off, which is what 4 days a week? ha!

Got what it takes?

[Pepe Gonzalez]

The only reason why LAPD wants to stand up a big Counter Terrorism unit is because of all the Counter Terrorism money going around from the U.S. Congress. Realistically, L.A. doesn't really need a big Counter Terrorism unit, like NYPD, due to very different demographics and the mandate of its people. Here in L.A. we just need our police to be out on the streets, snooping and pooping. We don't need them pretending they are FBI, and milking more overtime pay from the City and hiding from the Streets.

[Officer Krupke]

The carbomb fizzled and that's how they stumbled upon it, LT. At the end of the day, the bomb was placed where it was intended. It was 'safe' because it was B/O, in-op, did not work purely by chance not because the officers 'rendered' it safe. The police didn't do anything. We got lucky. Again. No thanks to our Security Apparatus, which we are paying so much for.

[jimmy sparks]

Gangs, Vice, Burglaries, Narco can all be done from Patrol. We don't need them hanging out on their own little club houses to plan their Friday, Saturday, Sunday & Monday days off consistently. stick 'em under patrol, where they can be watched & utilized correctly.

[In The Know about The Scoop]

Pepe Gonzalez... Quite the obtuse statement you tossed together. "News Flash" we don't get overtime pay anymore, and never did in Counter Terrorism. As a matter of fact, we took a pay cut to work those units. Do a little fact checking before you so ignorantly opine. Your milk would curdle if you knew just how factually incorrect you were. But then, most sheep prefer to live in denial.