Raman pivots to protect LAPD

Council member who sought cuts now calls, as mayoral hopeful, to maintain size of force.

- BY NOAH GOLDBERG AND DAVID ZAHNISER

MYUNG J. CHUN Los Angeles Times

NITHYA RAMAN last month voted against hiring 170 more police officers sought by Mayor Karen Bass.

Two days after her surprise entry into the Los Angeles mayor's race, Nithya Raman staked out her position on public safety, saying she doesn’t want the Police Department to lose more officers.

“We need to maintain the size of our police force and grapple with the fact that even the size of our existing police force is not enough to respond to 911 calls in a timely fashion,” she said Monday in an interview with NBC Los Angeles.

Raman’s statements represent a considerable evolution from 2020, when she became the first person elected to the City Council with the support of the Democratic Socialists of America. “Defund the police,” she declared at one point during her campaign.

As a council member, Raman has navigated a tightrope on the issue, responding to the wishes of her DSA supporters but also other constituents concerned about crime.

Just three weeks ago, she voted against the hiring of 170 additional police officers sought by Mayor Karen Bass, a former ally who is now her opponent in the June 2 primary.

“I've voted for police budgets when they have maintained appropriate levels of investment and are fiscally responsible, and that’s what I would continue to do as mayor,” Raman said Wednesday in a statement to The Times.

A Bass campaign spokesperson criticized Raman over her latest statements, saying her vote against police hiring last month would have caused the LAPD’s ranks to decrease even more.

“This is what typical politicians do; they say one thing while doing another,” said the spokesperson, Douglas Herman.