WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.600 --> 00:00:02.919 This is Gary and Shannon and you're listening to KFI 2 00:00:03.080 --> 00:00:05.839 AM six forty the Gary and Shannon Show on demand 3 00:00:05.919 --> 00:00:09.199 on the iHeartRadio app. Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban's house 4 00:00:09.279 --> 00:00:13.560 was the latest high profile home to be targeted by burglars. 5 00:00:13.560 --> 00:00:16.519 The LAPD says officers responded to a burglary report about 6 00:00:16.719 --> 00:00:20.719 eight o'clock Friday night on Lime Orchard Road over technically, 7 00:00:20.760 --> 00:00:23.519 I think this is Beverly Hills. Officers learned from a 8 00:00:23.559 --> 00:00:26.600 security guard that a burglar had smashed the glass door 9 00:00:26.640 --> 00:00:29.440 of the house, ransacked the house, and took off. It's 10 00:00:29.480 --> 00:00:32.439 not clear, at least not yet if he took anything 11 00:00:32.960 --> 00:00:34.719 at the time. We're actually going to be talking with 12 00:00:34.960 --> 00:00:37.799 LAPD Chief Jim McDonald coming up at the bottom of 13 00:00:37.840 --> 00:00:41.359 this hour and talk more about some of those high 14 00:00:41.399 --> 00:00:44.359 profile things and what the LAPD can do, if anything, 15 00:00:44.679 --> 00:00:51.560 to protect to protect homes there. We've seen quite a 16 00:00:51.759 --> 00:00:58.600 little bit of conundrum maybe between LA Mayor Karen Bass 17 00:00:59.479 --> 00:01:04.920 and LA County Supervisor Lindsay Horvath. Go back to January 18 00:01:04.959 --> 00:01:10.760 twenty first, if you will, the Palisades fire only partially contained. 19 00:01:12.280 --> 00:01:17.480 There were new fires that were going to erupt. January 20 00:01:17.560 --> 00:01:21.599 twenty second, I believe, is when the Castag fire, the 21 00:01:21.680 --> 00:01:26.680 Hughes fire broke out, and Karen Bass is still wobbling 22 00:01:27.040 --> 00:01:31.959 and wobbling simply because her first few days on the 23 00:01:32.000 --> 00:01:36.799 fire were week at best in terms of the response 24 00:01:37.480 --> 00:01:42.879 of the leadership, etc. City and county officials were doing 25 00:01:42.920 --> 00:01:48.439 these daily news conferences every day LA Unified or whatever 26 00:01:48.519 --> 00:01:50.959 the term they were using for their eight o'clock news 27 00:01:50.959 --> 00:01:57.519 conferences until that morning because Mayor Bass went to the 28 00:01:57.560 --> 00:02:02.079 reporters and did so without anybody from the county, I mean, 29 00:02:02.120 --> 00:02:04.959 the two most common faces that we saw from the 30 00:02:05.000 --> 00:02:13.199 county Supervisor Catherine Barger and Supervisor Lindsay Horvath, So behind 31 00:02:13.240 --> 00:02:16.479 closed doors, they were a little bit of a little 32 00:02:16.479 --> 00:02:21.039 bit of contention maybe between two of arguably the most 33 00:02:21.039 --> 00:02:28.639 powerful politicians in LA. Lengthy text message that Lindsay Horvath 34 00:02:28.800 --> 00:02:33.840 sends Karen Bass. This almost feels dirty seeing their seeing 35 00:02:33.840 --> 00:02:37.000 their text messages. And by the way, these all come 36 00:02:37.439 --> 00:02:42.360 from text messages and other correspondents that are available through 37 00:02:42.439 --> 00:02:45.919 public records requests in this case the LA Times. So 38 00:02:46.479 --> 00:02:54.039 Lindsay Horvath, supervisor whose district covers the Pacific Palisades, to 39 00:02:54.159 --> 00:02:57.240 Karen Bass, you asked us to lay off the daily pressers. 40 00:02:57.400 --> 00:02:57.919 We did. 41 00:02:58.240 --> 00:03:00.719 We asked you to join us for this announce tomorrow. 42 00:03:01.000 --> 00:03:04.360 No response. Now we hear you're doing one without us 43 00:03:04.400 --> 00:03:08.520 today when we are in lead role at your department's request. 44 00:03:10.400 --> 00:03:14.560 Doesn't feel very locked arms to me, of course, locked 45 00:03:14.680 --> 00:03:18.319 arms is this slogan that Karen Bass kept talking about 46 00:03:18.400 --> 00:03:20.919 over and over again in terms of we're all going 47 00:03:20.960 --> 00:03:24.240 to work together to rebuild. So Karen Bass responds five 48 00:03:24.280 --> 00:03:27.120 hours later, says she's not even sure what announcement that 49 00:03:27.159 --> 00:03:30.159 Lindsay Horvath was referring to. When they should sit down 50 00:03:30.280 --> 00:03:37.560 later in the afternoon and talk about it by contract. Now, listen, 51 00:03:38.439 --> 00:03:41.960 Lindsay Horvath and all of the county supervisors right now, 52 00:03:41.960 --> 00:03:45.080 they represent about two million people a piece, and you 53 00:03:45.120 --> 00:03:49.159 could argue that's more powerful, at least in sheer number 54 00:03:49.199 --> 00:03:52.360 of constituents, more powerful than a member of Congress. Members 55 00:03:52.360 --> 00:03:56.240 of Congress represent each district is seven hundred and fifty 56 00:03:56.400 --> 00:04:02.400 thousand ish people. And again five board, sorry, five supervisors 57 00:04:02.400 --> 00:04:04.960 on the county board, each of them represent about two 58 00:04:05.000 --> 00:04:11.560 million people, and in her case, Lindsay Horvath's district stretches 59 00:04:11.599 --> 00:04:15.599 from Malibu and Santa Monica into West Hollywood North through 60 00:04:15.639 --> 00:04:17.439 a lot of the San Fernando Valley, but it does 61 00:04:17.480 --> 00:04:23.560 include the entire burn area in the Pacific Palisades. By contrast, 62 00:04:24.160 --> 00:04:27.160 Karen Bass obviously the most visible politician in all of 63 00:04:27.800 --> 00:04:34.000 La County, responsible for about four million people. So this 64 00:04:34.279 --> 00:04:37.759 January twenty first back and forth about Hey, why'd you 65 00:04:37.759 --> 00:04:39.639 cut us out of these news conferences? I thought we 66 00:04:39.639 --> 00:04:42.040 were doing this together. It doesn't feel very locked arms, 67 00:04:44.079 --> 00:04:48.480 hardly a one off. When asked about the text messages 68 00:04:48.519 --> 00:04:51.839 and the relationship, Karen Bass was very careful. She praised 69 00:04:51.879 --> 00:04:55.360 Lindsay Horvath, said they're very unified in their mission. She 70 00:04:55.439 --> 00:04:58.839 said in a statement, Supervisor Horvath has been a tremendous partner. 71 00:04:58.879 --> 00:05:01.639 She and I continue to work together to make sure 72 00:05:01.680 --> 00:05:04.240 the Palisades can rebuild as quickly and safely as possible. 73 00:05:04.360 --> 00:05:07.480 But when you ask Lindsay Horvath about it, a little 74 00:05:07.480 --> 00:05:12.800 bit less less in love with Karen Bass than Karen Bass, 75 00:05:12.839 --> 00:05:15.600 at least as saying she is with Lindsay Horvath. 76 00:05:15.680 --> 00:05:16.759 We'll talk more about this. 77 00:05:17.079 --> 00:05:20.040 I'll explain Lindsay Horvath's response to all of this, and 78 00:05:20.079 --> 00:05:22.560 again at the bottom of the hour, LAPD Chief Jim 79 00:05:22.600 --> 00:05:26.240 McDonald is going to join us, asking questions about the 80 00:05:26.279 --> 00:05:29.720 continued operations when it comes to fire response in the Palisades, 81 00:05:30.279 --> 00:05:33.360 what's going on in terms of the celebrity burglaries, and 82 00:05:33.839 --> 00:05:37.240 the potential for LAPD to either get involved or not 83 00:05:37.319 --> 00:05:40.560 get involved with the federal immigration rates that have been 84 00:05:40.600 --> 00:05:42.560 talked about that's coming up at the bottom of the hour. 85 00:05:42.600 --> 00:05:45.439 We're talking about this back and forth between LA Mayor 86 00:05:45.519 --> 00:05:50.079 Karen Bass and LA County Supervisor Lindsay Horvath, specifically about 87 00:05:50.160 --> 00:05:52.800 the county getting bounced out of some of those post 88 00:05:52.920 --> 00:05:56.120 fire news conferences just a couple of weeks after the 89 00:05:56.160 --> 00:06:00.040 fire itself, in fact, to the two week mark, and 90 00:06:00.319 --> 00:06:04.079 Lindsay Horvath says doesn't feel very locked arms to me. 91 00:06:04.399 --> 00:06:06.439 Now that was January. 92 00:06:06.519 --> 00:06:09.879 In November, these two kind of went at it because 93 00:06:09.959 --> 00:06:12.600 Lindsay Horvath went public with a proposal that would have 94 00:06:13.600 --> 00:06:17.720 shrunk the duties of LASA, the LA Homeless Services Authority, 95 00:06:18.639 --> 00:06:21.439 and she was calling for hundreds of millions of dollars 96 00:06:21.480 --> 00:06:24.000 to be shifted out of the agency and into the 97 00:06:24.160 --> 00:06:28.439 county department that's focused on homelessness. Karen Bass said, no, 98 00:06:28.560 --> 00:06:30.480 that's not a good idea, because all you're doing is 99 00:06:30.519 --> 00:06:35.639 creating a new bureaucracy, and that didn't. 100 00:06:35.360 --> 00:06:36.120 Go very well. 101 00:06:36.800 --> 00:06:38.680 Now, all of this is echoed by the fact that 102 00:06:38.759 --> 00:06:41.439 Governor Newsom once said that his team at the state 103 00:06:41.560 --> 00:06:45.199 level wasn't getting straight answers from local leaders about some 104 00:06:45.319 --> 00:06:47.800 of the fire conditions on the ground and the things 105 00:06:47.839 --> 00:06:51.319 that the city and county were doing to get people 106 00:06:51.480 --> 00:07:00.240 back up and running in Palisades and in Alta. Dina Aaron. 107 00:07:00.319 --> 00:07:02.920 Bass has also had some issues with Tracy Park, who 108 00:07:02.959 --> 00:07:05.879 was a city council member who represents the Palisades and 109 00:07:06.279 --> 00:07:11.519 her own Steve Sobroff handpicked chief recovery officer in all 110 00:07:11.519 --> 00:07:14.279 of that. Now, some of this came to a head 111 00:07:14.319 --> 00:07:16.720 back on the thirty first of January. If you remember, 112 00:07:17.439 --> 00:07:19.959 this would have been ten days after Lindsay Horvat says 113 00:07:20.160 --> 00:07:23.720 you doesn't feel very locked arms to me. There was 114 00:07:23.759 --> 00:07:27.519 a zoom meeting and Karen Bass comes out and says 115 00:07:27.560 --> 00:07:32.079 that the Palisades was going to reopen to the public Sunday. 116 00:07:32.319 --> 00:07:34.079 This would have been Friday night that she said it 117 00:07:34.120 --> 00:07:40.319 was happening Sunday. Well, Steve Sobroff was one of the 118 00:07:40.319 --> 00:07:42.800 people who criticized her and said it's probably too early 119 00:07:42.839 --> 00:07:46.600 to do that. Tracy Park again representing the city that 120 00:07:46.959 --> 00:07:51.079 district represents, but she represents the Palisades. She said it 121 00:07:51.120 --> 00:07:56.240 was too soon for the neighborhood to reopen. So Palisades 122 00:07:56.319 --> 00:07:59.560 residents get upset with Mayor Bass and hours before they're 123 00:07:59.600 --> 00:08:02.680 set to reopened, she reverses course, and she says, okay, 124 00:08:02.839 --> 00:08:05.360 So the checkpoints that block off the area to almost 125 00:08:05.439 --> 00:08:09.000 everyone except residents would stay in place. All of this 126 00:08:09.160 --> 00:08:13.399 catches everybody flat footed. Mayor's the decision to reopen catches 127 00:08:13.399 --> 00:08:17.199 everybody flat footed. Her aids don't inform Lindsay Horvath of 128 00:08:17.240 --> 00:08:20.920 the reversal until after they put out a press release 129 00:08:21.120 --> 00:08:26.519 announcing such a thing. Then it got into the assistant level. 130 00:08:27.000 --> 00:08:32.519 You've got a spokesperson for the supervisor talking to a 131 00:08:32.559 --> 00:08:36.360 spokesperson for the mayor, and they know that their bosses 132 00:08:36.399 --> 00:08:39.080 aren't on the same page, and they start getting chippy 133 00:08:39.159 --> 00:08:44.320 with each other, saying that this is problematic, saying why 134 00:08:44.399 --> 00:08:47.120 did you call the mayor of Malibu and not the county. 135 00:08:47.519 --> 00:08:52.679 The Malibu obviously is its own separate city from La 136 00:08:52.799 --> 00:08:57.279 so it doesn't work the way palisades do, and sending 137 00:08:57.360 --> 00:08:59.840 a press release is not coordination. What you have done 138 00:08:59.919 --> 00:09:04.360 is create more chaos and less chaos. And then finally, 139 00:09:05.120 --> 00:09:08.240 Lindsay Horvath goes directly to Mayor Bass at ten o'clock 140 00:09:08.320 --> 00:09:11.159 at night and says, is there a reason your staff 141 00:09:11.200 --> 00:09:14.679 called Malibu officials without calling me or the sheriff. And again, 142 00:09:14.720 --> 00:09:18.000 this is a decision to partially reopen pch and the 143 00:09:18.039 --> 00:09:20.840 pala Shads. We are working within protocol and they are 144 00:09:20.879 --> 00:09:24.000 not your jurisdiction. Sheriff has been working with Chief McDonnell, 145 00:09:24.200 --> 00:09:26.879 and you pull the rug on the coordinated plan. I 146 00:09:27.000 --> 00:09:29.559 reach out to you to no avail. Even you and 147 00:09:29.639 --> 00:09:32.639 Tracy Park don't seem to me on the same page. 148 00:09:33.480 --> 00:09:38.799 No love lost between Lindsay Horvath and Mayor Bass of la. 149 00:09:40.240 --> 00:09:43.279 If we get into what you watch on Wednesday late 150 00:09:43.320 --> 00:09:45.200 in the show, I'd love to hear what it is 151 00:09:45.240 --> 00:09:47.879 that you are watching. My wife and I are several 152 00:09:47.919 --> 00:09:52.879 episodes into The Pit right now, which is a hospital 153 00:09:52.960 --> 00:09:56.399 drama that, according to a lot of doctors and nurses, 154 00:09:56.600 --> 00:09:58.279 is very very realistic. 155 00:09:58.399 --> 00:09:59.960 So we'll talk about that a bunch of other shit. 156 00:10:00.200 --> 00:10:02.440 Let us know what you're watching, send us a talk 157 00:10:02.519 --> 00:10:05.320 back on the iHeart app. When you're listening on the app, 158 00:10:05.440 --> 00:10:07.600 just hit the little red button with a white microphone 159 00:10:07.639 --> 00:10:09.960 on it and it sends a little message right here 160 00:10:10.240 --> 00:10:12.720 and we get it live. Other stories that we continued 161 00:10:12.759 --> 00:10:15.519 to follow. The US Special Envoy to the Ukraine to 162 00:10:15.759 --> 00:10:21.639 Ukraine was war retired General sorry Keith Kellogg, arrived in 163 00:10:21.720 --> 00:10:25.279 Kiev this morning for a continuation of talks with President Zelensky. 164 00:10:26.000 --> 00:10:28.759 Kellogg told reporters that he intends to make his three 165 00:10:28.840 --> 00:10:31.840 day visit to learn of Kiev's views on ending Russia's war. 166 00:10:31.879 --> 00:10:35.519 With Russia's war on Ukraine, he says, we're going to listen. 167 00:10:35.879 --> 00:10:38.200 We understand the need for security guarantees and of course 168 00:10:38.240 --> 00:10:40.759 the sovereignty of this nation and the defense of this 169 00:10:41.039 --> 00:10:45.919 nation as well. And the risk that they asteroid called 170 00:10:46.240 --> 00:10:48.279 twenty twenty four, why are for is going to crash 171 00:10:48.320 --> 00:10:49.879 into earth has increased. 172 00:10:50.000 --> 00:10:52.440 We'll talk about that a little bit later. 173 00:10:52.960 --> 00:10:56.840 We're going to start our conversations with LAPD's new chief, 174 00:10:56.919 --> 00:11:00.919 Jim McDonald sworn and back on November eighth, hopefully on 175 00:11:00.960 --> 00:11:03.879 a regular basis. So Chief, first of all, thanks for 176 00:11:03.919 --> 00:11:05.039 taking time for us today. 177 00:11:06.159 --> 00:11:08.159 Thank you, Gary, thanks for having me on. I appreciate 178 00:11:08.200 --> 00:11:08.879 the opportunity. 179 00:11:08.919 --> 00:11:10.960 All Right, you're at one hundred and three days in 180 00:11:11.000 --> 00:11:13.360 to your tenure as chief of the LAPD. Let's take 181 00:11:13.399 --> 00:11:16.519 a look back and give yourself a report card on 182 00:11:16.519 --> 00:11:18.000 how you've done for one hundred days. 183 00:11:18.840 --> 00:11:21.240 You know, I feel like we've done pretty good as 184 00:11:21.279 --> 00:11:25.679 a team. None of this is any individual effort, but 185 00:11:26.080 --> 00:11:28.919 a giant team effort. And when I look at the 186 00:11:28.960 --> 00:11:32.480 time we've had together here and the challenges that we 187 00:11:32.679 --> 00:11:38.519 face between the fires, the events we've had building up 188 00:11:38.559 --> 00:11:41.159 to the Academy Woods, We've had the Grammys, we had 189 00:11:41.600 --> 00:11:46.240 the worst fire in LA's history, big effort in supporting 190 00:11:46.240 --> 00:11:49.159 the fire department, working with our partners on that, and 191 00:11:49.200 --> 00:11:52.480 then we had the floods, the mud slides, and then 192 00:11:52.519 --> 00:11:56.080 dealing with the protests, the immigration protests has been very 193 00:11:56.120 --> 00:11:59.120 challenging on our deployment, but everybody has been pulling together. 194 00:12:00.039 --> 00:12:03.879 Look at out of this tragedy, I think we've become 195 00:12:03.919 --> 00:12:07.799 stronger as a department, but also stronger as a city 196 00:12:07.919 --> 00:12:08.519 in a region. 197 00:12:08.919 --> 00:12:12.279 Well, we all saw law enforcement play a huge role 198 00:12:12.639 --> 00:12:17.639 in the aftermath of the fires, and since LAPD patrols Palisades. 199 00:12:17.679 --> 00:12:22.799 We'll talk specifically about that. What is the ongoing mission 200 00:12:23.039 --> 00:12:25.440 is what is left for the LAPD to do when 201 00:12:25.440 --> 00:12:29.600 it comes to Palisades recovery, keeping law and order there. 202 00:12:30.879 --> 00:12:34.159 Yeah, you know, it's we're down from we had six 203 00:12:34.200 --> 00:12:37.879 to nine hundred officers a day assisting in our efforts, 204 00:12:37.919 --> 00:12:41.639 and they're focused mainly on evacuation on the initial stages 205 00:12:42.360 --> 00:12:46.039 and then getting ready for any subsequent evacuations due to 206 00:12:46.080 --> 00:12:51.519 flooding or mudslides or slippage, but then also traffic control 207 00:12:51.559 --> 00:12:55.360 and crime suppression, traffic control allowing ingress and egress to 208 00:12:55.399 --> 00:12:58.960 the affected areas. That was something that was very challenging 209 00:12:59.039 --> 00:13:01.320 because people certainly want to get back in to be 210 00:13:01.360 --> 00:13:04.279 able to see their property, to see in some cases 211 00:13:04.320 --> 00:13:06.960 what's left of it, or to try and figure out 212 00:13:06.960 --> 00:13:09.919 what they need to go for next steps. Very emotional. 213 00:13:10.480 --> 00:13:14.799 But then also from a public safety standpoint, you've got 214 00:13:15.000 --> 00:13:18.399 a very toxic area there with a lot of you know, 215 00:13:18.559 --> 00:13:23.200 danger involved, and initially with down power lines, with open 216 00:13:23.279 --> 00:13:27.600 gas lines, with broken water mains, as well as when 217 00:13:28.159 --> 00:13:32.519 you know the materials in modern housing, they're very safe 218 00:13:32.759 --> 00:13:36.440 until they burn and then they become toxic. That coupled 219 00:13:36.440 --> 00:13:39.679 with the challenges of how many people have electric cars, 220 00:13:39.720 --> 00:13:43.759 you know, Teslas or others, and the lithium ion batteries 221 00:13:43.799 --> 00:13:46.240 in those cars and as well as in the garages 222 00:13:46.279 --> 00:13:49.360 on the power wall that they charge the car with. 223 00:13:50.000 --> 00:13:53.799 Those are all as well lithium ion batteries, which when heated, 224 00:13:53.840 --> 00:13:57.480 become unstable and are potentially explosive. Those had to be 225 00:13:57.679 --> 00:14:01.240 updated before we could safely let people in the area. Thankfully, 226 00:14:01.279 --> 00:14:05.120 the EPA played a significant role in that, in removing 227 00:14:05.159 --> 00:14:08.279 and neutralizing them and then disposing of them. But it's 228 00:14:08.360 --> 00:14:11.120 kind of one thing after another, and the more technology 229 00:14:11.159 --> 00:14:15.360 improves and makes our lives easier, it provides also additional 230 00:14:15.480 --> 00:14:19.360 challenges for us and what happens to those materials of 231 00:14:19.399 --> 00:14:24.159 that technology when it's under unusual conditions, And certainly this 232 00:14:24.399 --> 00:14:25.279 was very unusual. 233 00:14:25.799 --> 00:14:30.240 I know it's a consistent practice for law enforcement agencies, 234 00:14:30.240 --> 00:14:33.200 the LAPD specifically to look back at events like that 235 00:14:33.519 --> 00:14:35.759 and sort of do a post mortem. Are we too, 236 00:14:36.519 --> 00:14:38.399 Is it too early to do a post mortem on 237 00:14:38.440 --> 00:14:41.519 that and see what could be improved, what was done? 238 00:14:41.519 --> 00:14:44.840 Well, yeah, you know, it's probably too early to do 239 00:14:44.879 --> 00:14:47.480 anything formal, but I think everybody who is out there, 240 00:14:47.559 --> 00:14:51.279 and the benefit we get is from the collective wisdom 241 00:14:51.720 --> 00:14:55.000 of people who looked at this from different perspectives. But 242 00:14:55.279 --> 00:14:58.120 some of the things that we could look at, I 243 00:14:58.159 --> 00:15:01.600 think for any kind of future event like this, certainly 244 00:15:01.600 --> 00:15:05.559 our deployment, you know, the question of pre staging critical 245 00:15:05.600 --> 00:15:09.000 resources in an area when you have you know, winds 246 00:15:09.039 --> 00:15:12.360 predicted or things. Those are those are front of mine 247 00:15:12.440 --> 00:15:15.039 things for people, but they also come with challenges because 248 00:15:15.240 --> 00:15:18.360 you have limited resources. When you pre stage them and 249 00:15:18.440 --> 00:15:20.679 it happened somewhere else, then you're not where you could 250 00:15:20.679 --> 00:15:24.120 have been or quickly respond able to respond to those areas. 251 00:15:24.799 --> 00:15:27.799 But I also look then at the type of conditions 252 00:15:27.799 --> 00:15:30.679 that our people worked in and people, when I say 253 00:15:30.679 --> 00:15:33.279 are people not only our department, but everybody who was 254 00:15:33.320 --> 00:15:36.120 the first respond to everybody who was out there, uh, 255 00:15:36.360 --> 00:15:39.159 and just the air quality and the type of things 256 00:15:39.200 --> 00:15:42.639 that people were exposed to without really knowing it. You 257 00:15:42.679 --> 00:15:44.279 went out there to do the job you could do 258 00:15:44.399 --> 00:15:48.600 to help save lives and protect property, but there was 259 00:15:48.840 --> 00:15:52.360 an awful lot of unknown substances in the air during 260 00:15:52.360 --> 00:15:56.159 that period, burnt particulate, and my concern was are we 261 00:15:56.320 --> 00:15:58.879 preparing our people and equipping them well enough to be 262 00:15:58.919 --> 00:16:02.120 able to deal with potentially what we'll find down the 263 00:16:02.200 --> 00:16:04.480 road was a health challenge. 264 00:16:05.559 --> 00:16:07.639 Can you talk about some of these headlines when it 265 00:16:07.679 --> 00:16:10.960 comes to international crime rings. We saw another high profile 266 00:16:11.080 --> 00:16:14.480 robbery I believe it was Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban's 267 00:16:14.519 --> 00:16:19.480 house in a gated community. Is that being blown out 268 00:16:19.480 --> 00:16:22.679 of proportion or is that a big concern for LAPD. 269 00:16:24.000 --> 00:16:26.159 You know, I've heard, you know, a lot of people 270 00:16:26.200 --> 00:16:31.600 talk about celebrities, sports stars their properties being burglarized, and 271 00:16:31.879 --> 00:16:34.080 I don't know that we could attribute it to their 272 00:16:34.120 --> 00:16:37.279 celebrity status, but rather they live in affluent areas which 273 00:16:37.279 --> 00:16:41.399 are being targeted by these type of criminal enterprises. We 274 00:16:41.519 --> 00:16:44.279 do have those that come in from other countries for 275 00:16:44.320 --> 00:16:47.080 the sole purpose of engaging in this kind of activity. 276 00:16:47.799 --> 00:16:51.679 South American crime gangs have been pretty prolific here in 277 00:16:51.720 --> 00:16:54.919 the last couple of years, particularly as it involves burglaries 278 00:16:54.960 --> 00:16:59.320 of affluent areas. We work those. We have people dedicated 279 00:16:59.360 --> 00:17:03.279 to work in gathering intelligence on those individuals in the ring, 280 00:17:03.639 --> 00:17:06.759 and we've made a significant number of arrests to disrupt 281 00:17:06.759 --> 00:17:09.599 some of that activity, but they are then backfilled by 282 00:17:09.640 --> 00:17:12.759 others who come in and keep going The level of 283 00:17:12.799 --> 00:17:16.720 sophistication we've seen from these groups is unlike we've seen before. 284 00:17:17.119 --> 00:17:19.799 They come in with jammers. They can jam your your 285 00:17:19.839 --> 00:17:25.039 system if you have wireless cameras, wireless alarm systems, so 286 00:17:25.079 --> 00:17:27.200 they shut those down. And then they go in after 287 00:17:27.240 --> 00:17:30.880 they've done surveillance of your house without probably you being 288 00:17:30.920 --> 00:17:33.279 aware of that by leaving a car across the street 289 00:17:33.279 --> 00:17:37.519 with cameras in it, or implanting cameras and your flower 290 00:17:37.599 --> 00:17:40.240 better your neighbor's flower bed, to get a pattern of 291 00:17:40.279 --> 00:17:41.880 life when you're going to be home, when you're not 292 00:17:42.039 --> 00:17:43.839 to know what you're going to do. And then when 293 00:17:43.839 --> 00:17:45.680 they get there, they check the house and they go 294 00:17:45.720 --> 00:17:48.759 in the back, usually break a rear slider, go in there, 295 00:17:48.759 --> 00:17:52.160 in there for a very limited duration, and then they're 296 00:17:52.160 --> 00:17:57.839 out and off, and then they pool their their where 297 00:17:57.839 --> 00:18:01.359 they're stolen property in a very organized fashion into a 298 00:18:01.359 --> 00:18:05.279 warehouse where it's distributed or sold from there. So these 299 00:18:05.279 --> 00:18:12.000 are transnational criminal enterprises that in this case specialize in 300 00:18:12.039 --> 00:18:14.480 this type of activity, and we've seen it not only 301 00:18:14.519 --> 00:18:17.440 in Los Angeles and southern California, but in various areas 302 00:18:17.480 --> 00:18:18.079 throughout the nation. 303 00:18:18.279 --> 00:18:21.599 We're talking with LAPD Chief Jim McDonald now one hundred 304 00:18:21.599 --> 00:18:25.319 and three days on the job as chief, of course, 305 00:18:25.359 --> 00:18:28.480 spent time years as chief of Long Beach PD and 306 00:18:28.519 --> 00:18:31.599 then years as La County Sheriff. Just about every kind 307 00:18:31.599 --> 00:18:34.599 of job you could have in law enforcement is what 308 00:18:34.720 --> 00:18:39.920 Chief McDonald has had. Let's talk about Special Order forty 309 00:18:40.480 --> 00:18:43.079 and what's going on with federal immigration rates. Now, back 310 00:18:43.079 --> 00:18:46.759 in nineteen seventy nine, Special Order forty was adopted under 311 00:18:46.799 --> 00:18:51.880 then Chief Daryl Gates, and it prevented officers from initiating 312 00:18:52.000 --> 00:18:54.720 contact to figure out if somebody was in the country illegally. 313 00:18:54.759 --> 00:18:58.960 But it did say if after all a said and done, 314 00:18:59.039 --> 00:19:01.000 someone was in the country illegally, it was going to 315 00:19:01.039 --> 00:19:03.359 go up to the chain, up the chain to supervisors. 316 00:19:03.400 --> 00:19:06.960 Supervisors in the department would then notify federal authorities. Has 317 00:19:07.200 --> 00:19:10.160 has that changed at all since nineteen seventy nine? 318 00:19:10.160 --> 00:19:16.480 And if so, how yeah, No, it's we're basically you 319 00:19:16.759 --> 00:19:19.720 have adopted that policy and that has been our guiding 320 00:19:20.440 --> 00:19:24.480 principle since nineteen seventy nine. We so for my career, 321 00:19:25.640 --> 00:19:29.359 which goes back to nineteen eighty one, we have never 322 00:19:29.400 --> 00:19:32.119 stopped anybody for the purpose of finding out their immigration 323 00:19:32.240 --> 00:19:37.119 status or any portion of their involvement with the criminal 324 00:19:37.240 --> 00:19:41.160 justice system. While in LAPD custody does not involve their 325 00:19:41.160 --> 00:19:44.519 immigration status. We don't ask about that, and that's not 326 00:19:44.680 --> 00:19:48.480 part of what we do. We're enforcing criminal laws in 327 00:19:48.519 --> 00:19:51.480 Los Angeles and trying to be able to maintain see 328 00:19:52.359 --> 00:19:55.880 maintain the trust of those who we serve, and we 329 00:19:56.039 --> 00:19:59.480 found that if we were to enter into that realm 330 00:19:59.480 --> 00:20:04.200 where we're in forcing civil immigration of law, then we 331 00:20:04.240 --> 00:20:06.599 would lose the trust of much of our community and 332 00:20:07.599 --> 00:20:11.680 ultimately the community would be less safe overall. So we're 333 00:20:11.680 --> 00:20:15.720 committed to the principle of Special Order forty. There are 334 00:20:15.759 --> 00:20:19.119 other laws that have come along more recently, the California 335 00:20:19.119 --> 00:20:23.720 Trust Act and the California Values Act, which have basically 336 00:20:25.640 --> 00:20:30.079 put into law what we've been doing for almost forty 337 00:20:30.160 --> 00:20:31.240 five years. 338 00:20:31.920 --> 00:20:33.200 LAPD currently has. 339 00:20:33.359 --> 00:20:35.279 I think you put the number at about eighty eight 340 00:20:35.400 --> 00:20:40.000 hundred sworn officers. How many is the right number? How 341 00:20:40.000 --> 00:20:42.119 many would you like to see if you had the 342 00:20:42.160 --> 00:20:43.799 power and an unlimited budget. 343 00:20:45.160 --> 00:20:47.640 I mean, in an ideal world, I'd love to see 344 00:20:47.759 --> 00:20:52.519 us at twelve five hundred or thereabouts. I think that 345 00:20:53.359 --> 00:20:56.480 given that we could deploy resources where they need to 346 00:20:56.480 --> 00:20:58.599 be when they need to be and to be able 347 00:20:58.640 --> 00:21:01.079 to do all of the things that we are stretching 348 00:21:01.119 --> 00:21:05.759 ourselves to do. Now. You look at the challenges we 349 00:21:05.839 --> 00:21:08.799 face as we move forward, just worth regard alone to 350 00:21:09.000 --> 00:21:13.000 cyber fraud, cyber terrorism, all of the threats that we'll 351 00:21:13.039 --> 00:21:17.319 see that involved that. The Internet has been a great 352 00:21:17.400 --> 00:21:20.599 boon for our society, but has also provided challenges for 353 00:21:20.680 --> 00:21:25.279 public safety with online scams of every type where people 354 00:21:25.319 --> 00:21:28.440 are being ripped off for you know, for their life 355 00:21:28.440 --> 00:21:34.400 savings in some cases, elder abuse, you know, the internet 356 00:21:34.559 --> 00:21:38.200 exploitation of children. There's so much more we'd like to 357 00:21:38.240 --> 00:21:41.279 do if we had enough resources to do that, but 358 00:21:41.559 --> 00:21:44.079 we do the very best we can with what we have. Now. 359 00:21:44.119 --> 00:21:46.240 We try and be as judicious as we can be 360 00:21:46.680 --> 00:21:50.319 and to continue to prioritize our resources to address the 361 00:21:50.319 --> 00:21:51.119 threats of the day. 362 00:21:52.839 --> 00:21:55.839 What is the biggest speed bump to that. Is it 363 00:21:56.079 --> 00:21:57.920 just funding or is it recruiting? 364 00:21:59.000 --> 00:22:02.519 Yeah, it is right now. It is primarily recruiting. Being 365 00:22:02.559 --> 00:22:05.640 able to have enough people interested in making this their 366 00:22:05.720 --> 00:22:10.119 profession coming into the process and then being able to 367 00:22:10.240 --> 00:22:13.359 process them rapidly enough so we don't lose them to 368 00:22:13.440 --> 00:22:16.559 other departments. That has been a challenge for us in 369 00:22:16.640 --> 00:22:19.359 Los Angeles. Here, we're working with the mayor, We're working 370 00:22:19.400 --> 00:22:23.599 closely with the Personnel Department, another city department who does 371 00:22:23.680 --> 00:22:26.880 much of that work, to be able to move this 372 00:22:27.039 --> 00:22:29.480 forward in a way where we're able to fill classes 373 00:22:29.480 --> 00:22:34.440 of sixty each month, which is a good capacity for us. Unfortunately, 374 00:22:34.480 --> 00:22:37.160 we've been at about a third of that for the 375 00:22:37.400 --> 00:22:40.920 last several years, which really doesn't match our attrition rates. 376 00:22:40.960 --> 00:22:44.400 So we continue to move forward and every chance I 377 00:22:44.480 --> 00:22:47.319 get to try and recruit people and share with them 378 00:22:47.319 --> 00:22:49.960 that you know that you have a tremendous opportunity to 379 00:22:49.960 --> 00:22:51.920 be able to make a difference, to be able to 380 00:22:52.039 --> 00:22:55.559 change our city for the better by becoming a Los 381 00:22:55.599 --> 00:22:59.319 Angeles police officer. The opportunities are great, and at the 382 00:22:59.400 --> 00:23:01.720 end of the day, you're able to say that maybe 383 00:23:01.720 --> 00:23:03.960 you made someone's worst day of their life a little 384 00:23:03.960 --> 00:23:04.920 bit more manageable. 385 00:23:05.039 --> 00:23:05.240 Yeah. 386 00:23:05.680 --> 00:23:08.559 I think it's amazing that even in this side of 387 00:23:08.599 --> 00:23:11.480 the business, where we talk about law enforcement a lot, 388 00:23:12.119 --> 00:23:14.279 we don't talk enough about the positives. I mean that 389 00:23:14.680 --> 00:23:18.440 just the LAPED alone, thousands and thousands of contacts with 390 00:23:19.000 --> 00:23:22.519 people in Los Angeles every single day. The vast majority 391 00:23:22.559 --> 00:23:25.960 of them go unheard of, unspoken of, and probably some 392 00:23:26.039 --> 00:23:29.799 of them are at times funny, some of them are positive, 393 00:23:29.880 --> 00:23:31.720 some of them are life saving, and we just don't 394 00:23:31.839 --> 00:23:35.119 we don't spend enough time talking about those contacts. 395 00:23:36.079 --> 00:23:38.960 Now, thank you for bringing that up. And you're exactly right. 396 00:23:39.759 --> 00:23:41.759 When things go right, we just go on to the 397 00:23:41.799 --> 00:23:45.359 next call and go about our business, and you know, 398 00:23:45.559 --> 00:23:49.000 there's no celebration, there's no comments being made or anything. 399 00:23:49.000 --> 00:23:52.079 And it's the rare exception that get all the attention. 400 00:23:52.480 --> 00:23:55.680 And what we do is critical enough in our society 401 00:23:55.799 --> 00:23:58.839