Wave Staff and Wire Reports
LOS ANGELES — In response to an increase in shootings by Los Angeles Police Department officers this year, Mayor Karen Bass has announced that she will be working with Chief Jim McDonnell and members of the Board of Police Commissioners to identify measures to attempt to reduce them.
Bass issued a statement Dec. 19 that said she was “deeply concerned by the recent rise in officer-involved shootings.”
Bass said she met with McDonnell to discuss the issue, and will be working with him and the five-member board that oversees the department to understand the causes of the increase.
“I am particularly concerned about how individuals’ mental health may be factoring into these incidents,” Bass said in the statement. “Too many times, our society lets people’s mental health deteriorate so significantly that they can either become the victims or the perpetrators of crimes.
“Since taking office, I have worked to take a comprehensive approach to public safety, investing in strategies to divert calls for service involving Angelenos in crisis to trained mental health teams, and that will continue.”
The statement came seven days after the LAPD announced that there were 43 shootings by officers from Jan.1 through Dec. 8, compared to 26 from Jan. 1-Dec. 8, 2024.
“A preliminary analysis into the [officer-involved shooting] increase shows the encounters our officers are facing this year are more violent and more dangerous,” the department said in a statement.
Six suspects were charged with attempted murder of a police officer, up from four last year, while 15 suspects were charged with assault with a deadly weapon on an officer, more than double the seven charged in 2024.
Earl Ofari Hutchinson, president of the Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable, challenged Chief McDonnell to immediately implement strict policies and procedures from training to discipline to sharply reduce the number of LAPD shootings.
“The rise in LAPD shootings is alarming,” Hutchinson said. “It calls for tough, new or improved methods by the LAPD to reduce, better yet, eliminate the overuse of deadly force. The ball on this is squarely in Chief McDonnell s court.”
Hutchinson spoke Dec. 23 in front of the LAPD’s Southwest Division Station.
“LAPD shootings, many dubious, continue to rise,” he said. “The overuse of deadly force by the LAPD has been a continuing sore spot in minority communities.
“Mayor Bass calls the shooting rise ‘disturbing.’ It’s much more,” Hutchinson added. “It calls for immediate action by her office … to get a public pledge from LAPD Chief McDonnell to implement measures to curb excessive force by LAPD officers.”
The increase in shootings by officers reflects a corresponding rise in violence directed at law enforcement, police said.
Each shooting by an officer undergoes multiple layers of review, including internal evaluations and independent oversight, to ensure compliance with law and department policy, police said.
Officers are trained to prioritize de-escalation, make sound tactical decisions and safely resolve critical incidents. Guided by the principle of “Reverence for Human Life,” they are instructed to use all available options when confronting violent individuals and can request specialized assistance, including mental health professionals, when necessary.
There have been at least three shootings by officers since then, including a fatal shooting Dec. 18 in Hollywood. Officers also shot suspects Dec. 19 in downtown Los Angeles and Dec. 16 in the San Fernando Valley neighborhood of Winnekta.
The department noted officers are facing a more dangerous environment this year, with more armed suspects, more replica firearms, more assaults with edged weapons and more instances of individuals firing at officers.
