Former Vice President Kamala Harris will no longer receive protection from the Los Angeles Police Department after backlash from officers who were reportedly pulled from crime prevention efforts for the security detail.
Officers within the LAPD’s Metropolitan Division had been assisting California Highway Patrol in protecting Harris after President Donald Trump revoked her Secret Service protection late last week. The detail consisted of about a dozen officers and was funded by the city, where Harris has a home in the Brentwood neighborhood.
As of Saturday, that detail has since been disbanded, sources told the Los Angeles Times.
The move is relatively unsurprising, as the additional LAPD protection for Harris was previously described by an official as a “temporary coordinated effort” with CHP “until an alternate plan is established.”
But it does follow frustration from LAPD officers, with the biggest police union in Los Angeles slamming the earlier formation of the detail, which was organized by Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, as “nuts.”
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“Mayor Karen Bass should tell Governor Newsom that if he wants to curry favor with Ms. Harris and her donor base, then he should open up his own wallet because LA taxpayers should not be footing the bill for this ridiculousness,” a statement from the Los Angeles Police Protective League said.
The union added that Harris can “easily afford to pay for her own security,” which may be needed as she is set for 15-city book tour starting on Sept. 24 and lasting until Nov. 20. The book, 107 Days, is slated to release on Sept. 23.
