Los Angeles Takes First Steps to Have Unarmed Officials Respond to Some Calls Now Handled by Police

Councilman Herb Wesson said he looks forward to working on the project with members of Black Lives Matter Los Angeles.

The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday approved the first step in a plan to replace Los Angeles Police Department officers with community-based, unarmed emergency responders for non-violent calls for service.

"This is the dawn of a new era of public safety in Los Angeles," said council member Herb Wesson, who co-authored the motion. "The bottom line is that the way things have been going is not working for our communities. This last month has made that crystal clear. We have a responsibility to listen to our people, and our people have spoken."

Wesson said he looks forward to working on the project with members of Black Lives Matter Los Angeles.

The motion for the crisis response teams was presented by Wesson and council president Nury Martinez on June 16 following protests in the city over the in-custody death of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers. 

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