A candidate for Los Angeles City Council was captured saying, "F#*k the Police," in response to a question about abolishing the LAPD at a campaign event at Cal State LA last week, the audio of which was leaked to the Westside Current.
Ysabel Jurado is running against embattled District 14 Councilmember Kevin de León for a seat representing a large swath of L.A.'s east side. Her statement, the Westside Current reports, came in response to a question from a Cal State LA student, who "described themselves," as a constituent of the area she wants to represent and an “East LA punk [rocker],” and then asked about her stance on abolishing the LAPD.
The student, according to the community online newspaper, asked, “As someone who’s, myself, pro-abolishment of police, where do you stand on that spectrum?”
Jurado responded by referencing a lyric from the anthem song created by Los Angeles-born rap group N.W.A. on its album "Straight Out of Compton," saying: “Yeah, what’s the rap verse? ‘F#*k the Police.’ That’s how I see them."
A spokesperson for the Jurado campaign released a statement from the candidate Monday morning, saying: "In a meeting with students at Cal State LA, I quoted a lyric from a song that’s been part of a larger conversation on systemic injustice and police accountability for decades. But it was just a lyric — and I’m proud to be accessible to young people and students, listening to their concerns and treating them like the future leaders they are. That’s something my opponent has failed to do. My commitment to public safety remains as strong as ever."
On Monday, de León called his opponent's remarks "simply disrespectful," adding: "I stand where I’ve always stood, 100% behind our frontline officers who go out every day risking their lives to protect Angelenos across our city," Los Angeles Magazine reports.
The LAPD also did not immediately respond to her remarks.
