Los Feliz and other neighborhood councils come out against arming L.A. park rangers

Several Eastside neighborhood councils -- including those from Echo Park, Highland Park, Los Feliz and Silver Lake -- voiced their opposition to the proposal by Councilman and committee member Joe Buscaino, who is running for mayor. 

The Arts, Parks, Health, Education and Neighborhoods Committee approved the motion with a 2-1 vote, with Buscaino and the committee's chair, Councilman John Lee, voting in favor of advancing the motion. Councilman Mike Bonin dissented.

The motion if approved by the full City Council would direct the City Attorney to prepare an amendment to the city's municipal code to allow park rangers to carry firearms. The motion has the support of LAPD Chief Michel Moore as well as several neighborhood councils.

Incident at Elysian Park

Chief Park Ranger Joe Losorelli noted an incident in Elysian Park in which park rangers attempted to make contact with two people who were drinking beers in the park, but "before they even have enough information to gather these individuals names and phone numbers, they're shot at."

He added that the rangers had to wait 10 minutes for a police response during that incident.

Bonin, who opposed the motion, said he found problems with the argument that the park rangers should be armed because they currently have to wait for police to respond.

"So does everybody else. If having to call the cops is a justification for somebody being armed, then ... are we going to then next month start talking about arming LADOT officers, are we going to start talking about arming parking attendants, are we going to start talking about arming librarians?"

Widespread opposition

Callers voicing opposition to the motion flooded the committee meeting, with people calling the idea "preposterous," "absurd," and "ridiculous'." 

"As the neighborhood council that represents Griffith Park, one of the largest urban parks in the United States and reflects so much of the identity of our neighborhood, we strongly oppose this motion," the Los Feliz Neighborhood Council stated in comment submitted to the City Council. 

The motion will next go to the City Council, not the Public Safety Committee, according to the office of that committee's chair, Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez.