Los Angeles, October 7, 2015 — In response to Chief Beck’s comments on the horrifying video of an LAPD officer being stalked by an armed man, Craig Lally, president of the Los Angeles Police Protective League, issued the following statement on behalf of the League:

“While Chief Beck made a point of alerting officers to the dangers posed by the video early on, upon further investigation, he all but dismissed the violent, anti-police nature of the images. Analyzing the intentions of the video does not change the fact that a threat on officers’ lives was made. All such threats must be taken seriously. We think Chief Beck’s first reaction was right: officer safety must be our first priority, and a threat of this nature, whatever the reason, should not be downplayed.”

“The very fact that this could have been created to bring ‘street cred’ to a rap group shows the prevalence of the anti-police narrative being communicated by some in our society. Rather than dismiss this as ‘not a precursor to an attack,’ we call on Chief Beck to strongly condemn the content and makers of the video for perpetuating a disturbing trend that should be stopped. This line of thinking must be rejected by all sensible people. We ask everyone to focus on the critical value police officers bring to our communities, and to support law enforcement.”

Contact: Burson-Marsteller at (213) 292-1003

About the LAPPL: Formed in 1923, the Los Angeles Police Protective League (LAPPL) represents the more than 9,900 dedicated and professional sworn members of the Los Angeles Police Department. The LAPPL serves to advance the interests of LAPD officers through legislative and legal advocacy, political action and education. The LAPPL can be found on the Web at www.LAPD.com.