LAPD Union VP Tells Cops To Go To A City That 'Respects' Their Work

The vice president of a Los Angeles police union has had it with the disrespect shown toward police officers in her city.

Amid salary contract negotiations, Los Angeles Police Protective League (LAPPL) Vice President Jerretta Sandoz vented her frustration on her personal Facebook page. She encouraged fellow officers to go to a city that understands their worth.

"Go somewhere that respects the work you do and you don't have to beg for a great contract," she wrote. "Go somewhere that has a city council or city manager that openly acknowledges the great work you do, go somewhere that doesn't have two or more City Council members who hate you (no exaggeration)."

Sergeant Jerretta Sandoz expressed her frustration over the treatment of fellow Los Angeles police officers. (Credit: LAPD)

The LAPPL represents the city's 9,027 police officers. LAPD has already lost 1,000 officers since 2019.

The Board of Police Commissioners said 43 officers have departed the city in the last fiscal year — compared to only 12 during the same span in 2017-18.

Police Commissioner Erroll Southers has called the loss of officers "very, very discouraging," according to the Los Angeles Times.

(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Sandoz has since deleted her Facebook post. But she's not backing down from her stance.

"My comments were part of a larger online thread about officers who stated they already decided to leave the LAPD," she said. "And I stand by every word I wrote to those who decided or are strongly considering leaving the LAPD for another agency."

Sandoz has a long list of grievances, including hostile City Council members, a ban on displaying the "thin blue line" flag and the lack of a solid contract.

LAPD Suffers Consequences of 'Defund The Police' Movement

In 2020, protests swept the country after the killing of George Floyd. To appease the mob, then-Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti pledged to cut $150 million from the city's police budget.

And, not surprisingly, that move did not result in peace and love.

In the next two years, violent crime surged in Los Angeles. And in the first half of 2022, the city saw the highest number of homicides in 15 years.

To make matters worse, the city re-instated its no-bail policy in May 2023.

Less police officers in the streets. More criminals in the streets. No wonder the LAPPL is concerned.

(Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)

But even L.A. Police Chief Michel Moore is at odds with the union.

In January, Moore ordered the "thin blue line" flag be removed from public view in all Los Angeles police stations. He also banned its use on uniform patches and bumper stickers on police vehicles.

Moore said the flag had been hijacked by right-wing extremists "to symbolize their undemocratic, racist and bigoted views."

And Paula Minor — an organizer of Black Lives Matter L.A — told the Times the chief made the right decision.

"Today that flag, I think, has been co-opted by extremists. You know those blue line flags were flown on January 6, when a number of extremists flew those flags when they attacked the Capitol," Minor said. "That symbol should not be hung in a publicly funded institution."

So Sandoz and the LAPPL might be on to something.

Who wants to put their life on the line every single day when the city and even your own chief don't have your back?