TO: Mayor Karen Bass and Members of the Los Angeles City Council

SUBJECT: Public Demands for Accountability and Reform of the Los Angeles Police Department

Los Angeles is at a breaking point. The pattern of excessive force, civil rights violations, and impunity within the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) represents a systemic failure of public leadership. To restore public trust and uphold constitutional governance, we submit the following demands. Each is grounded in sound policy, enforceable mechanisms, and the urgent need for structural change.

1. Independent Public Investigation with Subpoena Power

We call for the creation of a fully independent investigative body, free from influence by the LAPD or City Attorney's Office, to conduct a comprehensive review of department misconduct. This should be viewed as an opportunity for partnership. City leadership must take the initiative to champion transparency and accountability by empowering a credible outside entity.

The investigation must include excessive force incidents, protest policing, unlawful detentions during crowd control operations, documented civil liberties violations, and deviations from LAPD policy and municipal code. The body must have subpoena authority, full access to records, and a 90-day mandate to publish a public report with findings, evidentiary documentation, and reform recommendations.

Implementation: This effort should be enacted via emergency ordinance and funded through reallocation from the LAPD budget or emergency reserves. Appointees must include legal experts, civil rights attorneys, and independent prosecutors with no ties to LAPD or the City Attorney’s office. The Office of Inspector General may support, but not lead, the process.

2. Mandatory Unpaid Suspension for Serious Misconduct

Any LAPD officer who is credibly identified through video evidence, corroborated witness accounts, or verified internal findings as having used excessive force or committed unlawful acts must be immediately suspended without pay pending investigation. This policy must be mandatory, not discretionary.

Implementation: The Mayor and Council must initiate renegotiation of the Police Protective League MOU to establish mandatory suspension without pay for specified misconduct. The Office of Inspector General and Board of Police Commissioners must be empowered to order these suspensions based on defined criteria. The City should also pass an ordinance making this requirement a condition of employment.

3. Departmental Self-Insurance Fund and State Legislative Advocacy for Liability Insurance

We call for two parallel reforms to realign fiscal responsibility for misconduct. First, the LAPD budget must include a self-insurance fund from which all settlements and judgments related to officer misconduct are paid. This will ensure that financial consequences remain with the department, not the general fund.

Second, while California law currently requires public employers to indemnify officers, the City must formally advocate for state legislation authorizing cities to require officers to carry individual professional liability insurance. Officers with multiple misconduct claims who become uninsurable should face decertification through California POST.

Implementation: The City must establish the self-insurance fund through ordinance and allocate budget accordingly. For the liability insurance reform, the City must support enabling state legislation and align local policy with evolving POST certification standards.

4. Public Monthly Misconduct Reporting

We call for the publication of monthly reports detailing all alleged and sustained misconduct. These reports must include: incident date, complaint date, allegation type, case status, disciplinary outcome, anonymized officer ID and division, and any settlement amount. Reports must be published in English and Spanish, searchable, and archived indefinitely.

Implementation: The City Council must pass legislation assigning this responsibility to the Office of Inspector General and mandating public hearings within 30 days of release. Reports must feed into a dashboard maintained by the City Clerk and audited by the City Controller.

5. Leadership Transition in the Chief of Police

We urge a transition in LAPD leadership. The current Chief of Police has failed to address institutional misconduct and rebuild public trust. A change in leadership would signal a new era of accountability.

Implementation: The Mayor and Police Commission must begin a transparent national search for a Chief with a track record of civil rights compliance, reform leadership, and community-based safety strategies.

6. Consequences of Inaction

Should the Mayor and Council fail to take visible, good faith steps toward implementation within 60 days of receiving these demands, we will escalate. We will petition the California Department of Justice for civil rights intervention, and we will advocate for statewide legislation to codify these reforms.

We will also prepare targeted litigation, including class actions, against the City for systemic harm. In parallel, we will organize sustained nonviolent protests across all Council districts and City offices. All prior direct actions by our coalition have been peaceful and will remain so. This is civic pressure, not chaos. Finally, we will pursue recall campaigns against any elected official who obstructs or ignores these demands.

This is not radical. These are basic democratic expectations. If the City cannot control the unlawful force of its own police, it forfeits moral legitimacy.