If you’ve been keeping up with the news, you’re probably already familiar with the growing tension between protesters and the LAPD in Los Angeles, California. At this point, it’s hardly surprising to hear about police officers turning aggressive toward peaceful demonstrators. What makes it worse is that some of these officers have reportedly been collaborating with ICE agents to apprehend people without warrants.
Fed up with this behavior, many residents showed up at a Los Angeles City Council meeting to demand the removal of LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell. According to a firsthand account shared on Reddit by user u/infernoenigma, dozens of community members attended the meeting to call for McDonnell’s removal, which the council could carry out with a two-thirds vote. Even though Los Angeles calls itself a sanctuary city, attendees argued that the LAPD continues to work closely with ICE, offering protection to federal agents and using force against demonstrators.
The outcry followed an incident on Saturday, October 18, during the “No Kings 2.0” protest, when LAPD officers on horseback reportedly charged into peaceful crowds, striking protesters and members of the press with batons and firing “less-lethal” rounds at close range.
In the Reddit post, u/infernoenigma described the City Council meeting as both frustrating and dismissive. Attendees had to sit through a long series of presentations before being allowed to speak, including one about rising food insecurity. During that discussion, Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson was reportedly seen walking around the chamber eating from a plate of food, something the Redditor called tone-deaf, especially with millions of people expected to lose their food stamp benefits in the coming days.
When the public comment period finally began, each speaker was limited to just 60 seconds. “While people demanded action and begged for help, City Council members talked, laughed, and ignored the community voices insisting they do something already,” u/infernoenigma wrote. Anyone who went over their time was escorted out of the chamber.
As tensions rose, Harris-Dawson allegedly asked one of his colleagues to leave the room, causing the council to lose quorum. The meeting was abruptly adjourned, and the lights were turned off. Even then, several residents stayed behind to finish speaking, with Councilmember Nithya Raman reportedly remaining to hear them out.
The Reddit post ended with a call for accountability, urging city leaders to “stop lying to the media” about Los Angeles’s sanctuary city status and to stand with residents instead of cooperating with ICE.
Other Reddit users who read the post applauded those who attended for standing up and demanding change. Many agreed that the city needs to take accountability and that people are tired of seeing police treat citizens like criminals. “When I see elected officials flippantly ignore the will of the people with no real consequences, I have to wonder if our system of democracy works at all… Anyways, thank you for speaking up!” one user commented.
