It has been another busy, challenging and exciting year for LAAPOA. We began 2025 on a positive note, with a new contract that included well-earned security in the form of improved pay, benefits and retirement provisions for our members. However, our Association and law enforcement in L.A. County as a whole continued to face familiar challenges, such as recruitment and retention woes, rising crime, violent attacks against officers and legislation detrimental to public safety. At the same time, we contended with new challenges, including destructive wildfires, homelessness issues, protests, federal immigration enforcement, curfews and more.
Throughout the year, LAAPOA also called for new leadership at LAWA and LAX, specifically voicing no confidence in LAXPD Chief Cecil Rhambo. “He is not the leader that LAXPD and LAAPOA need as we continue to deal with the fallout from the pandemic, anti-police sentiment, airport and transportation difficulties and the security challenges of upcoming world events in L.A.,” LAAPOA President Marshall McClain says. “With the World Cup and Olympics approaching, our profession needs strong, present leadership — not absent leadership.”
Despite these obstacles, LAXPD officers, along with L.A. Municipal Police officers and Los Angeles park rangers, remained steadfast in their duty to protect our communities and LAAPOA has stayed strong, advocating for our members at every turn to ensure their rights, safety and benefits were protected locally, statewide and nationally.
Here, we look back on some of the key issues, accomplishments and highlights covered in our BOLO e-newsletters, print newsletters and social media — all of which helped keep members, supporters, political leaders and the media informed on the complex legal and policy issues affecting law enforcement.
New Year, New Laws
At the start of 2025, LAAPOA compiled a list of new laws our members should be aware of, which went into effect on January 1. Some of these bills include AB 3209, which allows a court to issue a “retail theft restraining order”; SB 982, which makes the crime of organized retail theft permanent and strengthens measures to address retail crime; and AB 2943, which allows an officer with probable cause to arrest a person for shoplifting, even if the act did not take place in the officer’s presence.
LAAPOA also hailed the historic passage of H.R. 82/S. 597, the Social Security Fairness Act, which was signed into law on January 5 after more than 40 years of relentless advocacy by labor organizations — including PORAC, which LAAPOA is part of. This bill repeals the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO), restoring long-denied benefits to millions of law enforcement officers, firefighters, teachers and other public servants.
Uncovering the Silent Threat to Law Enforcement
Heart attacks are consistently ranked as one of the top causes of death in law enforcement, while sudden cardiac deaths account for up to 10% of all line-of-duty police deaths. That’s why LAAPOA raised awareness about heart disease among law enforcement officers throughout American Heart Month in February.
Honoring Women Officers and Dispatchers
In March, LAAPOA celebrated Women’s History Month by highlighting LAAPOA Board member Alejandra Garay, an LAXPD officer who is one of the many women in LAAPOA and in the Department carrying the torch of those who came before them and inspiring the next generation of female officers.
The following month, LAAPOA recognized the tireless work of dispatchers and emergency call-takers during National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, which takes place during the second full week of April each year. These men and women are often regarded as the “first first responders” in our ranks — heard but unseen heroes who work behind the scenes 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.
Remembering Our Heroes in Blue
April 29 marked 20 years since LAXPD Officer Tommy Scott was killed while heroically protecting our community from a man who had commandeered his patrol car near the airport and was intent on crashing it into an airplane on the LAX runway. Two decades later, LAAPOA has kept his memory alive through the Los Angeles Airport Police Athletics and Activities League (LAAPAAL) Tommy Scott Memorial Scholarship Fund, which has provided scholarships to dozens of deserving students in his memory.
We continued to remember our fallen heroes throughout the month of May, which has been a sacred time for law enforcement since 1962, when President John F. Kennedy established May 15 as National Peace Officers Memorial Day and the week in which May 15 falls as National Police Week. Each year, along with Scott, LAAPOA pays tribute to the others within our own ranks whom we lost too soon, including Captain Albert E. Torres (EOW October 12, 2019), the first Los Angeles park ranger killed in the line of duty. During the California Peace Officers’ Memorial candlelight vigil on May 4 and the enrollment ceremony on May 5, law enforcement from across the state honored three officers killed in the line of duty in 2024 (San Diego P.D. Officer Austin Machitar, Vacaville P.D. Officer Matthew Bowen and LASD Deputy Alfredo Flores) and two who died in past years (Manhattan Beach P.D. Officer Chad E. Swanson and El Monte P.D. Officer Terry D. Long).
As part of these memorial events, LAAPOA President Marshall McClain represented the Association and our members in Sacramento, joining thousands of fellow officers and survivors in honoring the fallen at our State Capitol. LAAPOA also brought to light data that shows just how real the risks of law enforcement are. There were 342 officers shot in the line of duty in 2024 — including 19 from California — and 52 of them were killed, marking a 13% increase in firearms-related fatalities from 2023.
In June, LAAPOA joined the nationwide observance of National PTSD Awareness Month, continuing its commitment to supporting the mental health and wellness of peace officers. The Association also highlighted the sad fact that more officers kill themselves every year than are killed in the line of duty. In recognition of National Suicide Prevention and Awareness Month and of National Law Enforcement Suicide Awareness Day on September 26, LAAPOA committed itself to bringing attention to and educating our members and supporters about this public health issue and epidemic in the law enforcement profession.
This year also marked the 24th anniversary of the deadliest terror attack ever to happen on U.S. soil. On Patriot Day, LAAPOA mourned the thousands of lives tragically cut short on September 11, 2001, and saluted all the brave first responders who answered the call to action.
We Stand Together
In June, LAAPOA reaffirmed its solidarity with law enforcement officers across Los Angeles — local, state and federal — who united to protect the community during a week of civil unrest. The Association condemned political interference that undermined public safety and called for stronger leadership and collaboration among agencies. “Witnessing the interference of politics into the public safety work of law enforcement officers and the denigration of those who serve is beneath our country and has put officers, their families, the people, the communities, and the property they protect under siege. It must stop now,” McClain said.
In September, LAAPOA used Labor Day as an opportunity to highlight the importance of solidarity among workers — including peace officers — and to reaffirm that the Association remains as dedicated as ever to fighting for equity in wages, benefits, equipment, training and working conditions for our members.
Big Win for LAXPD
In July, LAAPOA welcomed long-overdue progress when Congresswoman Maxine Waters secured $963,000 in federal funding to help modernize LAXPD’s aging vehicle fleet and equipment. Waters noted that the goal was to enhance the ability of the Department to protect the safety and security of the physical structures, passengers, commerce and thousands of people who work and pass through LAX daily. The funding request underscores an irrefutable fact: The LAXPD must be properly funded, trained and equipped to keep pace with the ongoing expansion and modernization of LAX, currently ranked the seventh-busiest passenger airport in the world.
Sounding the Alarm on LAX Leadership
As crucial as it was to secure the $963,000 in federal funding, LAX still has a long way to go if it hopes to be ready for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and 2028 Olympics. LAAPOA continued to sound the alarm that LAX remains unprepared to meet the growing demands of international travel and global security. Despite rising traffic and staffing shortages, airport leadership under CEO John Ackerman has failed to act, even as he received a $250,000 raise and added over 20 new executive positions.
Another leader who has failed the Department is Police Chief Cecil Rhambo Jr. The Association called on Mayor Karen Bass to replace Rhambo, who took a leave to run for sheriff within a year of becoming chief and has done nothing since then to address plummeting morale and crisis-level staffing numbers. Under his rule, LAXPD has suffered a 33% attrition rate, with 171 sworn officers departing — an average of 34 per year. Of those, 90 sworn officers resigned. “Self-proclaimed King Rhambo needs to hear from those he supposedly represents,” McClain said. “It is time to go. We have given you every chance to lead us. It has not happened.”
Strengthening Leadership and Influence Within PORAC
LAAPOA leaders continued to strengthen their statewide influence this year within PORAC, as Vice President Rodolfo Bojorquez was unanimously elected chair of the PORAC Legal Defense Fund, representing over 160,000 members nationwide, while President McClain was re-elected to the PORAC Executive Committee and endorsed by the Port Authority Police Benevolent Association in his campaign for PORAC president. Together, they reinforced LAAPOA’s leadership and commitment to advancing the rights and interests of peace officers across California and the nation. “I am dedicated to representing my association, my region and our more than 84,000 peace officer members throughout California, and I look forward to the opportunity to further expand my service to our members, our profession and our communities by guiding PORAC into the future,” McClain said.
Keeping Members Informed on Key Labor Issues
Throughout 2025, LAAPOA updated members on important law enforcement labor developments through expert legal analysis from Mastagni Holstedt, APC. The issues highlighted included an update on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision on mental health calls; PORAC’s amicus brief in support of a petition for certiorari to review the constitutionality of New York’s new concealed carry law; understanding no tax on tips and overtime provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill; David Mastagni’s powerful testimony in opposition to SB 627; and more.
“After going through a year like we just did, it would have been easy to fold our tents and go to our corners — but we did the opposite at LAAPOA. On behalf of our Board and myself, thank you for leaning in and being part of the conversation, and we encourage you to continue to do so,” McClain says. “As we look ahead, my faith in our members and in this organization has never been stronger. The resilience and unity we demonstrated in 2025 have prepared us for what’s to come. Together, we will meet every challenge, continue to support one another and ensure LAAPOA remains strong through 2026 and beyond.”