California spent more than $38 million to mobilize thousands of police officers to help with crowd control during the weeks of protests that followed the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
The California Highway Patrol put in more than 431,000 hours of unanticipated overtime costs between May 28 to June 11. Of that amount, CHP put in some 70,000 hours of overtime in Los Angeles County at a cost of over $6 million, according to a letter sent to lawmakers from the state’s Finance Department.
The latest report puts CHP’s total costs on responding to protests to at least $63 million, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. The state also paid almost $25 million to deploy 8,000 National Guard troops to help combat the unrest in eight cities and counties during a time that states are already facing budgetary strains from the coronavirus pandemic.
California used $19.3 million from emergency accounts to help cover policing costs. The Finance Department will also pull another $9.6 million from its own emergency tactical funding and absorb remaining costs in the budget.
Protests erupted across the country and the world after the May 25 death of Floyd. Some of the rallies across the country resulted in violent escalations, including episodes of looting, property damage, and vandalism. Protesters have demanded an end to police brutality and racial injustice, heightening the national conversation about police reform.
