Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti is proposing a slight increase in funding for the city’s Police Department for the upcoming budget year, disappointing advocates who have called for the agency’s defunding.
Garcetti’s proposed $11.2-billion budget allocates $1.76 billion for the LAPD, up from the $1.71 billion the council approved in July. The mayor’s plan, which covers the fiscal year starting July 1, would continue to provide a force of about 9,750 sworn police officers.
The number of officers at the department now is lower, however, because of retirements and resignations. The LAPD is expected to have 9,489 officers on June 30.
Garcetti’s proposed budget, released Tuesday, comes nearly a year after widespread protests over police brutality and racial injustice. Polls have shown public support for measures that shift some duties away from police. At the same time, the city is grappling with an uptick in murders and shootings.
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