Los Angeles agency votes for $36M police funding boost as crime surges

Officials in Los Angeles voted this week to re-fund their police amid an upswing in crime.

Less than a year after “defund the police” fervor swept across major cities from coast to coast, Los Angeles County Metro, the region’s public transportation agency, voted Thursday to boost police funding by $36 million.The vote passed 12-0, including a “yea” from Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, a major advocate of defund the police measures, who chairs the board. The money will go toward the agency’s law-enforcement contracts with the Los Angeles Police Department, Long Beach Police Department and Los Angeles Sherriff’s Department.