Council Approves Transit Police Merger Plan
Saying Los Angeles residents and all Southern California transit riders will be the safer for it, the City Council approved a plan Wednesday to merge the Metropolitan Transportation Authority police agency with the Los Angeles Police Department.
The complex proposal to have the LAPD and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department take over policing of the MTA’s buses and rail lines countywide was approved on a 12-3 vote. That vote followed a last-minute compromise package supported by Mayor Richard Riordan and other key city officials.
Before voting, some council members said they remained concerned that the merger could potentially cost the city millions of dollars and force it to incur even more expenses in lawsuits. But police officials and council supporters said the new proposal won’t cost the city any money, yet will result in dozens of additional patrol officers and improved and better-coordinated crime-fighting services.
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