LOS ANGELES (CNS) – Relatives of fallen Los Angeles Police Department officers Sunday condemned the remarks of City Council candidate Ysabel Jurado, who was caught on tape saying “F– the police” during a college forum.
The Los Angeles Police Protective League, which organized Sunday’s news conference, has demanded an apology and urged Jurado to withdraw from the Nov. 5 election against incumbent Kevin de León.
“I think an apology at this point would be political, it wouldn’t be genuine, because if she was genuinely apologetic it would have come immediately after her remarks and it hasn’t,” said Melissa Swailes, wife of Officer David Swailes, who died by suicide, according to the union.
“Still to this day from what I’m aware, she has not apologized, so at this point, it would be meaningless,” Swailes said.
Jurado’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment from City News Service.
In a statement issued to KTLA, Jurado said, “I understand the pain that families feel after the loss of a loved one, and I have deep respect for anyone who has lost someone in the line of duty. We can honor the memories of fallen officers while also pushing for accountability and equity in policing, and real investment in our communities.
“What I’m hearing from voters is a desire for new leaders who will take a fresh approach to public safety because what we’ve been doing clearly isn’t working. That’s what we’re focused on, and we won’t be deterred by attempts to take us off course.”
Angela Mendoza, the girlfriend of Officer Fernando Arroyos who was shot and killed while the two were looking at houses to buy, called Jurado’s comments “a slap in the face because he was murdered just because of who he was, what he did, which was to be an LAPD officer. They are humans and the anti- police rhetoric needs to stop.”
During an Oct. 17 meeting with students at Cal State Los Angeles, a man who identified himself as a 14th District resident asked Jurado for her thoughts on police spending. Jurado responded with the “F– the police” lyric from a 1988 protest song by the defunct Compton hip-hop group N.W.A.
“As someone who is myself pro-abolishment of police, where do you stand on that spectrum and what do you think about Kevin de León’s discretionary fund spending on overtime for police,” the student can be heard asking before Jurado’s response: “What’s the rap verse? `F— the police,’ that’s how I see ’em.”
CBS2 later reported that the man works for de León, Jurado’s opponent, but is also a student at Cal State LA.
Jurado later defended her comments, saying she quoted a lyric from a song that’s been “part of a larger conversation on system[ic] injustice and police accountability for decades” and that she is committed to public safety.
De León called the comment “simply disrespectful.”
Jurado, a tenant rights attorney, finished first in the March primary to represent the district that stretches from Boyle Heights to downtown Los Angeles.
Last week the union, which represents the LAPD’s rank-and-file, released a digital ad urging 14th District voters to not support Jurado and launched a website, JuradoPolicePlan.com, which they say is intended to expose her “attack on local police officers.”
Douglas Emmett Management and the LAPPL spent $100,000 for the ad, according to the website.
Meanwhile, a group of 14th District residents organized an earlier news conference to also call on Jurado to apologize and drop out of the race.
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