Long before last weekend’s riots against immigration enforcement began, the Democratic-led city of Los Angeles spent years defunding its police department. Federal immigration authorities say LA’s shrunken police force is now struggling to help control the large-scale riots rocking the city.
ICE acting Director Todd Lyons claimed LAPD took over two hours to respond to Friday night’s rioting despite multiple calls for help from federal authorities. According to Lyons, ICE agents were vastly outnumbered by 1,000 activists swarming the streets.
In a public reply, LAPD said the department’s response time was affected by “significant traffic congestion,” the presence of protesters, and the fact that federal agencies sprayed irritants into the crowd prior to LAPD’s arrival.
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“This created a hazardous environment for responding officers,” LAPD said. The department
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