The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) has ended its special protection services for former Vice President Kamala Harris.
It marks a significant change in security measures for the high-profile political figure, ABC 7 reported.
In a controversial decision, Harris saw her LAPD protection withdrawn days after President Donald Trump rescinded her Secret Service detail.
Trump, who defeated Harris in the November 2024 election, ordered an end to her Secret Service protection effective September 1.
This move set the stage for local and state law enforcement to temporarily step in.
Los Angeles’ Democrat Mayor Karen Bass requested that the taxpayer-funded LAPD provide interim security for Harris.
This decision came after Trump’s unexpected rescission left Harris without federal protection.
The California Highway Patrol, along with specialized units from the LAPD’s Metropolitan Division, provided Harris’s security detail.
These units were tasked with a temporary security role until a more permanent solution could be implemented.
Mayor Bass emphasized that this security arrangement was always intended to be temporary, expressing gratitude for the LAPD’s flexibility in her official statement.
The LAPD’s interim role was not without its detractors.
Members within the Metropolitan Division, responsible for crime suppression across Los Angeles, voiced concerns about being redeployed to protect Harris.
They cited a strain on resources that could have been directed towards ongoing crime issues in the city.
Amid these internal criticisms, the LAPD’s special protection for Harris became a subject of broader public debate.
The Los Angeles Police Protective League openly criticized the decision, arguing that the responsibility for Harris’s security should not fall on the shoulders of L.A. taxpayers.
Following this debate, the protection was withdrawn, and the LAPD officers returned to their regular duties, a decision met with approval from many within the department keen to return to their primary roles.
The decision to cease LAPD’s protection was welcomed by the Los Angeles Police Protective League.
They suggested that Harris, a former California senator and attorney general, could seek alternative means to fund her protection, including potentially launching a GoFundMe campaign.
This suggestion, made somewhat facetiously, highlights the ongoing discussion around the funding and provision of security for public figures who no longer hold office but who may still be at significant risk.
The issue of protecting public figures after their term has ended remains contentious, with varying opinions on who should bear the responsibility and cost of such security measures.
Traditionally, former vice presidents receive Secret Service protection for six months after they leave office.
However, Joe Biden had extended Harris’s service to 18 months, a term that concluded earlier this year when he left office.
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