Los Angeles County sheriff blasts lawmakers over $145M budget cut: 'We are not some outside occupying force'
'Crime hasn't gone away because people don't like law enforcement'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva warned the county's largely Democratic leadership Thursday that the $145 million cut from his department's budget earlier this week is going to "hurt the public" as divisions scramble to reassign cases.
"The need to provide public-safety continues to rise," Villanueva said on "Hannity." "Crime hasn't gone away because people don't like law enforcement."
LA CUTS $150M FROM POLICE DEPARTMENT AMID CALLS TO DEFUND POLICE
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Since the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody on Memorial Day, criticism against police has spiked around the country, along with calls to reform or defund departments.
"For some reason, it's unpopular to speak out on behalf of victims but I will," Villanueva went on. "I’m going to support the hardworking men and women who are part of the city and we are not some outside occupying force.
"We didn't wake up one day and all of a sudden we are racist and we're not part of the community. We are part of the community, working with the community, for the community, and we need to be present."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}LA CITY COUNCIL MEMBER ANNOUNCES '1ST STEP' IN PLAN TO 'REPLACE LAPD'
Villanueva said that he was advised to cut back on bureaus that deal with special victims, narcotics, major crimes, organized crime, and human trafficking.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"At the minimum, we are going to have to curtail them, which means cases are not going to be investigated ... they are going to have a bigger workload," Villanueva said.
"Our cybercrime unit, they investigate abuse and it's a huge growing crime sector. They don't want to provide the funds to address it. There's no easy cut," he warned. "It's going to hurt the public in some way no matter how way they slice and dices."