The Los Angeles Police Department, which had almost 10,000 officers working every day for a week, spent over $40 million on officers working overtime due to the coronavirus pandemic and recent protests against police brutality, and the department will be paying all overtime earned after June 7 in compensation time, it was reported Monday.
The department spent more than it had been allotted for emergencies after the entire department was working every day for a week starting May 30, due to widespread protests sparked by the in-custody death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Chief Michel Moore told staff in a memorandum that the LAPD is too cash-strapped to pay the overtime accumulated after June 7, and instead it will be paid in compensation time, The Times reported.
"I recognize that you have worked tirelessly these past couple weeks during the protests and prior to that during the Safer At Home order. Your dedication and commitment have not gone unnoticed. During this extraordinary time, including the full mobilization of our sworn members, the department has expended more than $40 million dollars in overtime expenses,'' Moore wrote Thursday, according to The Times.
"This amount far exceeds any budgetary reserve to address unusual occurrences.''
Moore also said the department is canceling all non-essential overtime, which includes work on cannabis and human trafficking task forces, The Times reported.
Moore directed supervisors to attempt to ensure "essential overtime,'' which includes appearing in court, according to The Times.
