Los Angeles mayoral candidate Nithya Raman struggled to identify a police chief she respects during a tense exchange, adding to the criticism surrounding her recent reference to former LAPD Chief Daryl Gates.
CNN’s Elex Michaelson asked the councilwoman to name a police chief she genuinely admired. Raman was unable to offer an answer.
“I don’t know…I don’t know,” she replied.
The moment came after Raman described Gates as the “gold standard” for immigration enforcement during a recent debate, a comment that quickly drew backlash because of the former chief’s deeply polarizing record.
Raman has since attempted to clarify and retract the remark, saying she did not intend to praise Gates or his broader legacy as LAPD chief.
“It was a mistake to reference his name at all. I was trying to make a point and I fumbled that point. That point was not to praise Daryl Gates in any shape or form. I sincerely apologize for mentioning his name. I know it causes real pain for so many people across Los Angeles and I shouldn’t have said it,” Raman said.
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Her original statement was: “This city used to be the gold standard in terms of noncooperation with immigration enforcement years ago, under the era of Daryl Gates.”
Raman later explained that she was referring specifically to Special Order 40, a policy signed by Gates in 1979 that prohibits LAPD officers from stopping or questioning individuals solely to investigate their immigration status.
She said the policy was initiated under former Mayor Tom Bradley and helped establish the foundation for the Sanctuary City Ordinance that Raman later authored.
Still, invoking Gates triggered a fierce response because his time leading the LAPD has been linked to allegations of police brutality, the department’s militarization, the Operation Hammer sweeps and the aggressive policing environment associated with the 1991 beating of Rodney King.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass was among those who condemned Raman’s comments and questioned whether the candidate understood the city’s complicated history.
“To mention Daryl Gates and to tie his name with gold standard, she obviously does not know the history of the city. She most certainly does not know the history of Black and brown Angelenos or those words would’ve never come out of her mouth,” Bass said.
The controversy arrives as Raman has also said she would remove current LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell, while declining to publicly identify who she would choose to lead the department instead.
Michaelson said more excerpts from his interview with Raman would be broadcast on his nightly CNN program, The Story Is with Elex Michaelson.
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