Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) called for a “full and complete Congressional investigation” on Tuesday into the Los Angeles Police Department’s delayed response to the major riots over the weekend in Los Angeles against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations.
According to a Tuesday press release obtained by Fox News, Issa, who is a member of the House Judiciary Committee, announced that he was calling for a “full and complete Congressional investigation” into the Los Angeles Police Department’s delayed response to rioters who were assaulting ICE officials.
In a statement obtained by Fox News, Issa said, “We need to know if the political leadership of the City of Los Angeles, the State of California, or anyone else instructed the LAPD to stand down and not respond to the emergency requests of our ICE agents who were under attack by rioters determined to block them, burn them, or even kill them as they bravely carried out their sworn duties.”
In a Saturday press release, the Department of Homeland Security announced that over 1,000 rioters had “surrounded a federal law enforcement building and assaulted ICE law enforcement officers, slashed tires, defaced buildings, and taxpayer funded property” in Los Angeles. The Department of Homeland Security added that it took two hours for the Los Angeles Police Department to respond to the rioters.
In response to the Department of Homeland Security’s claim, Los Angeles Police Department Chief Jim McDonnell told reporters on Sunday, “When we heard that, I think anybody who’s a police officer couldn’t believe it, and certainly anyone with LAPD couldn’t imagine how that could happen. Well, it didn’t happen.”
McDonnell told reporters that the Los Angeles Police Department’s response time was only 40 minutes and was delayed due to traffic; however, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin pushed back against the police chief’s claims in a statement to Fox News on Monday.
“The fact remains that it took the Los Angeles Police Department two hours to respond,” McLaughlin told Fox News. “During that time, over 1,000 rioters surrounded a federal law enforcement building and assaulted ICE law enforcement officers, slashed tires, defaced buildings, and taxpayer funded property. DHS is grateful that now the LAPD is stepping up to help restore law and order.”
