LAPD requested nearly $100 million from the city for the Olympics. Will taxpayers be footing the bill?
Imperfect Paradise
LAist Studios
4.5 • 535 Ratings
🗓️ 23 January 2026
⏱️ 22 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The 2028 LA Olympic Games were promised to be no-cost to taxpayers. However, the Los Angeles Police Department requested nearly $100 million from the city for additional resources to police the games. LAist reporter Libby Rainey tells us what’s in LAPD’s request, how this could impact the city budget, and what it means for your tax dollars.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Support for LAIST comes from CarPros Kia and the new 2027 Kia Telluride Hybrid, |
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| 0:33.6 | This is in Perfect Paradise. |
| 0:35.1 | I'm your host, Nereida Moreno. |
| 0:37.7 | The LA-2020-Olimp Olympics are inching closer and closer. The big question is who's going to foot the bill, |
| 0:44.3 | particularly when it comes to security. The Los Angeles Police Department is asking the city, |
| 0:49.2 | as in your tax dollars, to pay for a significant amount of the costs associated with policing the games. |
| 0:55.3 | But what about the promises that the Olympics will be no cost for taxpayers? |
| 0:59.8 | We first covered this consequential issue on Imperfect Paradise in November. |
| 1:04.4 | Since then, there are growing questions around expenses and accountability. |
| 1:08.7 | So in this episode, we dive deeper into the LAPD's request for |
| 1:12.5 | tens of millions in its upcoming budget, why the department says it needs the money, and the |
| 1:17.8 | ongoing questions about who or what exactly will pay for the 2028 Olympics. L-Aist reporter Libby Raney |
| 1:24.4 | has been tracking the 28 Olympics, and she joins us again. Welcome back, Libby. Thanks, Nareda. So Libby Rainey has been tracking the 2028 Olympics, and she joins us again. Welcome back, Libby. |
| 1:29.4 | Thanks, Nereda. So Libby, we spoke with you a few months ago about the outlook of the Olympics |
| 1:34.4 | and what it meant that L.A. is the financial backstop for the games. Currently, the budget for L.A. 28 is |
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