A city official who recently voted to defund the police has been accused of calling cops to his home eight times to seek protection from protestors.
53-year-old Mike Bonin is one of eleven Los Angeles councilors who voted to slash the police department’s annual budget by $150 million back in June.
Now, the city official has been accused of making eight calls to the police since April in an alleged attempt to request protection from protesters.
According to Bill Melugin, a Fox News reporter, the public records request, filed by an anonymous resident, confirms that the councilor was on phone with the police to seek “extra patrols and protection from peaceful protesters at his house.”
“A public records request reveals that LA city councilman Mike Bonin, who voted to defund LAPD by $150 million, has called LAPD to his home 8 times since 4/4/20, including to provide extra patrols and protection from peaceful protesters at his house,” Melugin’s tweet read.
Following the accusations made amidst the civil unrest following George Floyd’s death, Bonin was quick to brand the story ‘false’ as he claimed the police had called him and not the other way around.
“No, Bill, this is as false as the tampon story you broke. I have NEVER asked LAPD for patrols at my house,” Bonin responded on Twitter.
“Seven of the eight calls you cite were apparently generated by LAPD themselves, sending patrols without my request and often without my knowledge.”
As the councilor went on to say, he had only called the police one time after allegedly finding syringes left behind by protesters outside his home.
“This is a cute tactic to try to silence or intimidate a public official who is standing up to the police union. It ain’t working,” Bonin concluded.
Hitting back at the defense was Melugin who claimed a source within LAPD confirmed that the calls were initiated by Bonin or his staff members.
“Multiple LAPD sources say they would not generate their own calls for a simple patrol. High level LAPD source texted me the following in response to Bonin’s claims,” Melugin wrote in his Twitter post.
“This was definitely a call for service by Bonin or a member of his staff. The call would have been placed by the resident or someone reporting something happening at that address,” the source alleged according to the reporter.
Replaced!