Los Angeles PD’s Police Chief Just Warned That Security Isn’t Good Enough For the 2028 Olympics – and the City Should Listen

I’ve seen local governments cut the cost on police services in the past, namely after the horrifying effects of the “defund the police” campaign that took shape years ago. But in this particular case, the city just needs to shut up and pay up because it’s of vital importance.

I’m talking about a recent article in Fox News, in which Los Angeles Police Department Chief Jim McDonnell recently spoke during a City Council Budget and Finance Committee meeting. It’s here that he made it clear – the city absolutelyneeds to step up its security for the 2028 Summer Olympics, which it will be hosting.

He noted the department doesn’t have the proper funding to staff the officers needed to keep the event safe, outside of minor overtime funding and a shared security pool with other agencies. “LA28 confirms that they have zero police or other safety budgets. While they do have a security budget, it doesn’t cover law enforcement.”

This is a big problem. When it comes to the Olympics, safety should be completely considered. Not only for the visitors that are attending from all over the globe, but for the safety of the athletes, the trainers, the preparation staff…everyone.

The Olympics have been a target more than once when it comes to outside terrorist forces. The 1972 Munich Summer Olympics are amongst the most noteworthy, with gunmen breaching the Olympic Village and killing all hostages following a failed rescue attempt. As a result, the effect was felt worldwide and the Games were delayed.

Not to mention the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics, in which a pipe bomb exploded in Centennial Olympic Park, killing one person and injuring over 100 others.

McDonnell continued, “The funding that exists is for all agencies involved in the Olympics, not just the LAPD, and it will be restricted primarily to police officer overtime.”

That is no good. At a time such as this, the LAPD needs extra men and women to keep everyone safe. We’re talking an additional 6,000 to 7,000 officers, as well as 700 to 800 patrol vehicles. It is an absolute must, especially considering that the department is already losing more than 500 officers per year, mainly due to attrition.

Olympic organizers have already stated that it would have the federal government assist with security, but LAPD officials called that report “inaccurate.” That would be mainly due to a lack of money.

Of course, there’s that odd duck that has to question the validity of paying the bill. Democratic Socialists of America member and Los Angeles City Council member Eunisses Hernandez had to ask the stupid question regarding police deployment.

“Do they all need to be cop cars? Can we not use school buses?”

Excuse me?

You’re talking about security deployment, making sure that people are aware that law enforcement is on site assuring safety. And you want to transport Los Angeles police officers…by school bus? How this person ended up on the council is beyond me.

Following McDonnell’s comments, Jacie Prieto Lopez, who serves as vice president of communications and public affairs, did make it clear she would look further into security costs. “We are grateful that the Administration and Congress recently appropriated $1 billion in security funding to support planning and operations, including reimbursements to local and state law enforcement.”

With that, my hope isn’t that she’s just grateful. It’s that she’s effective. This is not the time you want to be skimping on security and cutting corners just for the sake of saving a few dollars. This is the Olympics. One of the biggest events in the world. You want to make positively sure that every security officer you can hire is on site.

Otherwise, you never know who could engage in a terrorist activity. Local or international. There are crazy people out there who will go out of their way to hurt someone they don’t like, and we’ve seen it from the examples above.

Break out the wallet and pay the extra officers you need. Get those extra cop cars. (Skip the school buses, good grief.) Take care of the people that are visiting your city for this large event. Because if something goes wrong, I assure you, it’s going to take an eternity to try to bring them back.

And for crying out loud, treat your officers better. 500 LAPD officers leaving per year is too high. You need every good man and woman you can get.