Sen. Kamala Harris Given LAPD Protection, Even Outside LA
Sen. Kamala Harris Given LAPD Protection, Even When She Wasn't in LA
Armed, plain-clothes LAPD officers were dispatched to California cities outside of Los Angeles at least a dozen times to provide security for U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris at public events, media appearances, and a party.
LA taxpayers paid for airline tickets, hotel stays, car rentals, and meals, according to detailed expense reports obtained by NBC News. The total cost of the trips, not including the officers' overtime, topped $28,000.
The decision to end the out-of-town security program for Harris was made around the time the Los Angeles Times filed a lawsuit that demanded Mayor Eric Garcetti turn over records detailing the taxpayer expense of his own security detail during his extensive out-of-state travels, after both City Hall and the LAPD refused to release the documents through a routine California Public Records Act request.
"Unfortunately we are not able to give out this information, as it could potentially undermine the Mayor's safety and security," LAPD spokesman Rubenstein wrote in an email to the Los Angeles Times that was cited in the newspaper's lawsuit.
The Times' lawsuit claims there is no portion of the Records Act that exempts these expense records from public disclosure.
Sen. Kamala Harris Given LAPD Protection, Even When She Wasn't in LA
Armed, plain-clothes LAPD officers were dispatched to California cities outside of Los Angeles at least a dozen times to provide security for U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris at public events, media appearances, and a party.
LA taxpayers paid for airline tickets, hotel stays, car rentals, and meals, according to detailed expense reports obtained by NBC News. The total cost of the trips, not including the officers' overtime, topped $28,000.
The decision to end the out-of-town security program for Harris was made around the time the Los Angeles Times filed a lawsuit that demanded Mayor Eric Garcetti turn over records detailing the taxpayer expense of his own security detail during his extensive out-of-state travels, after both City Hall and the LAPD refused to release the documents through a routine California Public Records Act request.
"Unfortunately we are not able to give out this information, as it could potentially undermine the Mayor's safety and security," LAPD spokesman Rubenstein wrote in an email to the Los Angeles Times that was cited in the newspaper's lawsuit.
The Times' lawsuit claims there is no portion of the Records Act that exempts these expense records from public disclosure.
