In a room full of students at Cal State LA last week, a young man told Los Angeles City Council candidate Ysabel Jurado that he supports the idea of abolishing the police and wanted to know where she stood on the issue.
Jurado's response, which included the phrase “Fuck the police, that's how I see them,” drew harsh criticism this week in parts of the Eastside, where he is seeking to unseat Councilman Kevin de León.
On Wednesday, De León confirmed that Martín Pérez, one of his staff, is the Cal State LA student who asked the question.
De León declined to say whether Pérez, who handles constituent services in his office, made the recording of Jurado's comments, which first appeared Monday on the Westside Current website. But he praised his assistant, saying Jurado has been dodging questions about police abolition.
“He got the answer we had been asking. [during] five consecutive debates about why he wants to abolish the police,” he said. “And she confirmed it with a very vulgar and crude “Fuck the police.”
Jurado's comments at the Cal State LA meeting have given an unexpected boost to the campaign for District 14, which covers all or part of downtown, Boyle Heights, El Sereno and Eagle Rock. De León has been fighting his way out of a two-year scandal over a different recording, one that included crude and racist comments, and faces a fierce opponent in Jurado, a tenants' rights attorney who has never before run for office. a charge.
Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez called Jurado's use of the phrase immature, while Councilman Bob Blumenfield called it “incredibly offensive.” The Los Angeles Police Protective League, which endorsed De León and represents about 8,800 officers, is now airing 30-second attack ads criticizing Jurado.
“Their plan for public safety starts with an F-bomb,” the ad states.
In recent weeks, Jurado has rejected claims that he intends to defund the police, while arguing that too much money is being spent on the Los Angeles Police Department, putting the city on the brink. of a financial crisis.
On Monday, he downplayed his use of “F—the Police,” saying it was “just a lyric” from a rap song. Although he didn't say which song, its wording parallels parts of NWA's “Fuck Tha Police” and Kanye West's “All Falls Down.”
Jurado declined to comment on Perez on Wednesday. But he described the police union's announcement as “just noise.”
“Our community is focused on how they are going to put food on the table and pay rent on time, not on song lyrics,” he said in a statement. “That is why we are more determined than ever to address your needs and be your advocates at City Hall. “This campaign is about generating results, not distractions.”
Perez declined an interview request from the Times. In the recording of the meeting, he began his question by pointing out that he lives in the municipal district and is “a punk from East Los Angeles.”
More than a dozen people attended the event and several recorded different questions and answers, said Elliot Avila, a Cal State LA student who participated in the discussion. However, Ávila said he was convinced that Pérez made the recording of Jurado's statements.
“He is the one who claims to be a police abolitionist and is clearly working for Kevin de León,” he said. “The only person with the motive to do that would be him.”
Ávila, who plans to vote for Jurado, said his entire answer to the abolition question was actually “centrist.” After using the phrase “Fuck the police,” Jurado noted that some of his constituents want more police and said the Los Angeles Police Department should focus on violent crime.
“She was meeting [Perez] where he was, but then he returned to a more centrist and pragmatic position,” Ávila said. “I would have liked her to be much tougher against the police.”
Pérez has been an assistant to De León for about a year and a half, according to his LinkedIn profile. He founded and ran a clothing company in the “vibrant East Los Angeles punk scene” while also working as a security guard, the profile says.
Pérez has volunteered for De León's re-election campaign, knocking on doors, doing phone work and creating “art for tote bags that other employees will use,” his profile states.
Jurado identified himself as an abolitionist – someone who supports “abolition of the police and the “prison industrial complex” – in a questionnaire he sent to the Democratic Socialists of America-Los Angeles.
De León has attacked that stance, saying it would leave neighborhoods from downtown to Boyle Heights vulnerable to violent crime. Earlier this week, he described Jurado's use of the F-bomb as “irresponsible,” saying that wealthy neighborhoods will always have the ability to hire security personnel.
“Poor neighborhoods, low-income neighborhoods, neighborhoods that struggle every day to make ends meet, they also deserve public safety,” he told KTLA.
Jurado has rejected the idea that he plans to defund the LAPD, saying he wants officers to focus on gangs, drugs and violent crime.
During the election campaign, he has also argued that the city's approach to public safety “is not working,” saying more money should be dedicated to street lighting, sidewalk repair and youth programs.
