By 2UrbanGirls
Contributing Writer
INGLEWOOD — Mayor James T. Butts Jr. reported suffered a heart attack March 8 while in his City Hall office.
Upon his release from UCLA Medical Center March 12, the mayor issued a statement saying he would promptly return to work the following day. During the regular City Council meeting March 16 he described the ordeal and expressed his love for the council, staff and residents.
“I couldn’t breathe and then I was on the floor unable to move,” Butts said. “Had my cellphone not been near me, I wouldn’t have been able to call one of the staffers before she left for the evening.”
Butts thanked the quick response of Los Angeles County firefighters and Inglewood police officers for getting him to the hospital so quickly.
“I recognized one of the good-looking officers and realized it was Councilman George Dotson’s grandson,” Butts said.
Residents were abuzz on social media that the Inglewood mayor would bypass Centinela Hospital and its renowned heart institute for UCLA, which was miles away.
“Lucky for me my heart attack happened at City Hall which is north of Manchester Boulevard,” Butts said. “When you are north of Manchester, you aren’t taken to Centinela Hospital.”
The mayor then thanked his wife Judy, his colleagues and residents for wishing him a speedy recovery.
2 Urban Girls is a freelance reporter for Wave Newspapers who covers the Compton and Inglewood areas. She can be reached at 2urbangirls@gmail.com.
