(The Center Square) – Los Angeles’ $19.7 million response to the June protests and riots was almost entirely spent on police, highlighting the growing cost of police overtime amid an enduring officer shortage. 

According to a new report from government transparency group Open The Books, the city of Los Angeles spent $1.1 billion on overtime in 2024, or more than the city’s nearly billion-dollar budget deficit. Of that $1.1 billion in overtime, $265.5 million went to the Los Angeles Police Department, which has just 8,688 officers, or nearly a thousand officers short of its full authorized strength of 9,500.