The Los Angeles Police Commission meeting was once again turned into chaos by disruptive attendees labeling members of the LAPD as “cartel,” “pigs,” “killers,” “rapist”— and accusing commissioners of indifference to accountability.
Extended rants at the podium, shouted interruptions from the crowd and a breakdown in order slowed Tuesday’s meeting as police commission president Teresa Sánchez-Gordon struggled to move things along.
The chaos stands in stark contrast to the commission’s own posted rules, which emphasize safety, efficiency and meeting “free from disruption.” The guidelines also prohibit interruptions, and allow for removal of individuals who impeded business.
The blowup came during a meeting packed with substantive police business, including an update from the Office of the Inspector General on how the LAPD’s controversial pre-textual traffic stop policy is playing out on the streets.
The Inspector General told commissioners their office is reviewing traffic stops conducted since the department adopted its revised policy in 2022 — a change billed as an effort to curb racially biased policing while preserving officers’ ability to intervene when criminal activity is suspected.
“This matters for public trust,” Matthew Barragan said, calling independent oversight critical to accountability and pledging that findings will be presented publicly to the commission and later briefed to the City Council.
Commissioners also pressed LAPD leadership on staffing gaps, requesting a detailed breakdown of the department’s 333 reserve officers — how many are actively working patrol, what roles they’re filling, and whether they are being fully leveraged as the department continues to warn of critical staffing shortages.
Much of that business was repeatedly drowned out by chaos in the room.
Public comment spiraled into shouting, profanity and personal attacks. Speakers, several wearing “F*** the Police” shirts, refused to yield the podium, blew past time limits and hurled sweeping accusations at the department. They also directed the attacks to a California Post reporter on scene.
One speaker told commissioners they “hold the lives of people in this city in your hands,” accusing the department of treating lethal authority “with the carelessness of a video game.”
Another shouted that the LAPD operates like a criminal enterprise. “They are a cartel,” the speaker said. “The way you hold power over people is no different than a gang.”
Others accused the department of deliberately evading accountability by withholding officer identities, likening the practice to secret policing. “That is the logic of a secret police force,” one speaker said, citing ongoing disputes over public access to officer photos and records.
At multiple points, officials threatened removal as the room erupted in applause, jeers, and chants — but not until the end of public comment did the removal of one individual take place.