Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore says he is proud of the way the department stepped up to jump in to help where needed during the pandemic, like patrolling grocery stores and other essential businesses.

“During this pandemic, we have flexed to ensure that public health is protected, so that public safety is protected. We shifted to staffing of shelters 24 hours a day in 26 different shelter sites. We staffed for security and safety testing sites throughout the region. We added patrols so non-essential businesses were compliant, but also that essential businesses remained safe,” he says.

L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti recently proposed a $10.5 billion budget for the city. Chief Moore says the budget will affect civilian employees who will be furloughed, should the budget pass as proposed

“This department, it's a small department given the size of the city. It has to be nimble, it has to constantly evolve and adapt to what the challenges are and it's one that I believe is understaffed, undersized because of the nature of just how tight our budgets are,” he said. “Three-thousand civilian members of the organization makeup our civilian workforce and a significant portion of them, nearly 2,000, are taking a 10 percent pay cut, effectively, because there's two days a month in which they’ll not work. That's a 10 percent cut back in as far as their work size, as far as the workforce.”

Pt. 1 of Our Interview With Chief Moore

Chief Moore also talks about how they decide of those apprehended, which will be tested for COVID-19 and how they are working on a rapid testing system to get results faster.

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