Corporate Gifts to L.A. Police Department Raise Concerns

Supporters of the practice say it helps a cash-strapped police department fight crime, but skeptics are concerned that corporate donations to the Los Angeles Police Department are causing pay-to-play law enforcement in which the rich can afford to buy better protection than the poor, reports the Los Angeles Times.

The newspaper found that corporations and business groups donated more than $417,000 in cash and equipment to the department in the past year to help pay for investigations and services that directly benefited them, as did others.

At issue were gifts raised outside of the police department’s independent foundation.

The majority of donations benefiting the Los Angeles Police Department — $2.1 million last year — went through the Los Angeles Police Foundation. One top official said the department might now consider a change so that all police-department gifts come through this channel.

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