Garcetti Mum After Meeting With Black Lives Matter Activists
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Activists who have called for the dismissal of LAPD Chief Charlie Beck and two officers involved in last year's fatal shooting of an unarmed man met Thursday with Mayor Eric Garcetti.
Garcetti had very little to say to reporters after he left the 90-minute closed-door meeting with members of Black Lives Matter at Holman United Methodist Church in the Jefferson Park area.
Black Lives Matter has repeatedly sought meetings with Garcetti since the Los Angeles Police Commission determined last month that an LAPD officer acted improperly in the shooting of Ezell Ford, 25.
The group has demanded Garcetti fire the two officers involved in Ford's death or, short of that goal, that he dismiss Beck.
Activist Melinda Abdulla told reporters that during the meeting Garcetti "made no commitments to any of those demands," and that he "actually said 'I trust Charlie,' repeatedly."
"He made it clear in the meeting that he essentially was having this meeting because we pushed him to have the meeting," according to Black Lives Matter activist Patrisse Cullors.
Future meetings with the mayor were discussed, but nothing was finalized, CBS2/KCAL9's Dave Lopez reported.
"Will you still chase him around or is that over?" Lopez asked.
Cullors chuckled: "You will see what our tactics will be."
"We are hopeful that the activities that led to this one-and-a-half-hour meeting will transform the type of leadership that Eric Garcetti wants to provide to the City of Los Angeles," said Pete White, who leads the Los Angeles Community Action Network.
Activists have been attempting to get Garcetti to talk to them for weeks, including going so far as to camp out in front of they mayor's house in Windsor Square and attending his public events.
Several sources told Lopez the mayor didn't want Thursday's meeting with Black Lives Matter publicized, which is why it wasn't listed on his daily agenda of events that's released to the press.
In response to the Police Commission's decision last month, Beck announced all LAPD officers would be re-trained in techniques to de-escalate potentially violent confrontations, as well as better methods for dealing with homeless people and the mentally ill.
