Nithya Raman has declared she’ll fire LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell if she’s elected mayor for not stopping ICE from arresting illegal immigrants last June – despite spending the afternoon sipping cocktails as mass protests first rocked Los Angeles.
Photos leaked to the California Post show the Democratic Socialists of America-backed candidate sipping cocktails from 4 to 7pm on June 6th, 2025 — as thousands besieged the Downtown LA, spray painting anti-ICE slogans and confronting officers in riot gear.
The photos came to light as Raman marked a 100-day event for her campaign saying the chief would go because ”I don’t believe that his response to the ICE raids on our streets have met the moment.”
She said he should be replaced by someone who ”respects and honors” that immigrants are ”under attack.”
The Los Angeles Police Protective League, which represents rank-and-file LAPD officers and has endorsed Bass, slammed Raman over the happy-hour photos.
“On the same day Mayor Bass was on the ground in MacArthur Park deescalating what could have been an explosive situation, Nithya Raman was in Margaritaville looking like she didn’t have a care in the world,” the union’s Board of Directors told The Post.
Raman’s 100-day launch also outlined her radical anti-cop agenda, including making resisting ICE a centerpiece of her campaign.
She also promised an audit of officers to determine if they were following the city’s sanctuary ordinance, which restricts city resources from being used for federal immigration enforcement.
And rather than hiring more cops, she claimed she would increase the number of ”unarmed crisis response teams” respond to call outs.
Her demand to fire Chief McDonnell comes despite his near two-reign leading to a significant drop in crime as the LAPD deals with a force that’s short 4,000 officers.
They also directly challenged Raman’s suggestion that LAPD helped federal immigration authorities.
LAPD statistics show homicides have dropped 17%, rapes have fallen by nearly 6%, robberies almost 5% and aggravated assaults nearly 4% in the last year. Property crime is down almost 11%, with a 26% plunge in burglaries.
Raman did stop by an anti-ICE protest before all hell broke loose. Her campaign staff told the Post, the councilwoman had been at an event for 90 minutes before heading to happy hour.
“On that day, when fear was gripping many Angelenos, one took action while the other took a sip of a cocktail.
“It’s emblematic of how each will approach keeping neighborhoods safe.”
The union pointed out that Raman has voted ”no” to hiring more officers and firefighters.
“Apparently, when it comes to public safety, the only thing Nithya Raman supports are dangerous homeless encampments next to schools, parks and daycares,” the union said.
Raman did stop by an anti-ICE protest before all hell broke loose, with a pictures showing her holding a protest sign.
Raman’s June 6 calendar, obtained by The Post, also lists the happy hour celebrations for the departing staff member.
Federal agents had descended on locations across Los Angeles, including a Home Depot in Westlake and businesses in the Fashion District, detaining workers as crowds gathered outside.
The unrest would continue for 40 days, with Mayor Bass introducing an overnight curfew on June 10.
Before taking command of LAPD, McDonnell served as Los Angeles County sheriff and Long Beach police chief.
Federal authorities made 44 administrative immigration arrests that day.
By afternoon, the confrontation had shifted to the federal buildings downtown, where hundreds of protesters flooded the surrounding streets.
By about 7 p.m., LAPD had declared an unlawful assembly and ordered demonstrators to disperse.
Michael Trujillo, a Los Angeles political consultant, blasted the contrast between Raman’s criticism of the police and the happy-hour photos.
“We don’t do any kind of cooperation in immigration enforcement, and that’s in our policy,” the officer said.
“I suppose drinking margaritas with tequila is her way of being there for Latinos,” Trujillo told The Post, saying she couldn’t be bothered going ”where she was needed.”
“She’s clear in it for herself.”
Meanwhile, rank-and-file officers told The Post that removing McDonnell would be a mistake, particularly as the department battles staffing shortages and Los Angeles prepares for the 2028 Olympics.
“We’ve protected them from when they were going to get assaulted. Other than that, we’ve been a long arm’s length away from them. I don’t know what she’s talking about.”
“That’s preposterous. We’ve never worked with them,” one veteran LAPD officer told The Post.
Another officer pointed to LAPD policy prohibiting officers from participating in immigration enforcement.
Officers warned another leadership change could further damage morale inside a department already struggling to recruit and retain officers.
“Our mission, our motto, all that’s the same, but still, people have different ways of doing business,” the veteran officer said. “It might be a significant change, and that can be problematic. It can cause issues, and we’re already losing tons of people anyway.”
Officers also questioned how easily City Hall could find another candidate with McDonnell’s experience.
“McDonnell has been a steadying influence who has managed the besieged LAPD bureaucracy in an admirable and professional manner,” George Francisco, a longtime member of the LAPD’s Pacific Community-Police Advisory Board, told The California Post.
Francisco said Raman “may or may not be showing her potential policy hand” by threatening to remove the chief now. He said she is fixated on growing “unarmed response” at the expense of an already depleted force of sworn officers.
