Los Angeles City Council extends contract for LAPD’s high-ranking officers

The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday, April 2, extended its contract with the Los Angeles Police Department’s high-ranking officers, which was set to expire June 29.

Council members voted 8-to-3 in favor of the contract between the city and the Los Angeles Police Command Officers Association that will cover captains, commanders and deputy chiefs through 2027. There was no discussion prior to the council’s action.

The terms and conditions will resemble the contract with the LAPD’s sworn officers, lieutenants and detectives to “ensure equity in compensation and conditions of employment between subordinates and supervisors,” according to a report from the City Administrative Officer.

Council members Nithya Raman, Eunisses Hernandez, and Hugo Soto-Martinez voted against the contract. Council members Bob Blumenfield, Kevin de León, Curren Price and Katy Yaroslavsky were absent during the vote. Raman, Hernandez and Soto-Martinez previously voted against pay increases to LAPD officers, citing concerns with the city’s budget and priorities.

The contract will provide a 3% increase each year to the base wage of high-ranking officers through 2026, a cumulative 12%. Another provision will increase the number of vacation hours from 135 to 160 by July 2026. Holiday compensation will increase from $250 to $350, and a fund supporting executive development and technology-based needs will also increase.

Additionally, high-ranking officers will receive a boost to their health benefits — similar to what was set in the contract with lower-ranking officers. The CAO said the contract will cost approximately $12 million over the next three years.

Prior to the City Council meeting, the three-member Personnel, Audits, and Hiring Committee moved the contract forward as well.

According to city officials, the main area of compaction focused on base wages between lieutenants and captains. Previously, the difference between those categories was about 4% between each class, but it eroded with the increase in lieutenant pay. It needed to be adjusted so that the difference would be 10% between lieutenants and top staff and captains, officials said.

Councilmember Tim McOsker, who chairs the personnel committee, said the increase to base wages are relative, and the “actual bump” impacts about 30 employees.

The contract covers roughly 115 members, according to officials.

On March 22, the council approved a new contract with police officers working at LAX, which increased their wages and improved their benefits in parity with the LAPD’s contract.

“After hearing this item in the Public Safety Committee and asking specific questions about how this money will be spent, we were not presented with any evidence showing that this $8.8 million training will make our city safer or protect Angelenos’ First Amendment rights,” said Soto-Martinez, who also opposed that contract.

“As the city faces a budget deficit of over $350 million and we’re battling an unprecedented housing and homelessness crisis, we need to be a lot smarter about how we allocate our resources,” he added.