Gov Newsom ‘handcuffed’ police as LA riots expose ‘reactionary’ leadership failure: former sheriff’ s deputy

ENCINO, Calif. – As convulsive protests erupted successful Los Angeles, Calif., L.A. County GOP Vice Chair and erstwhile L.A. County sheriff's lawman Patrick Gipson issued a scathing rebuke of authorities and section leadership, accusing officials of negligence and governmental opportunism.

"These riots, they’re wholly unnecessary," Gipson told Fox News Digital. "We didn’t person to spell to this magnitude to spot cars burning, businesses looted, livelihoods destroyed. It could’ve each been avoided."

Gipson pointed the digit squarely astatine Calif. Gov. Gavin Newsom, blaming him for failing to deploy the National Guard successful clip to forestall chaos.

"Newsom is reactionary alternatively of pro-action," helium said. "If helium had called successful the National Guard earlier, we would’ve saved billions of dollars successful security claims and protected our tiny businesses."

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Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers determination successful connected demonstrators successful beforehand of LA City Hall during a protestation against national migration sweeps successful downtown Los Angeles, California. June 8, 2025. (REUTERS/Barbara Davidson)

The protests, which began arsenic demonstrations against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), escalated into thoroughfare unit and theft. The protests highlighted, for galore conservatives, the consequences of the state’s left-leaning attack to progressive transgression justness betterment and immigration.

"ICE is present to enforce national law. And if we can’t enforce national instrumentality successful this state, what does that accidental astir us?" helium asked.

Gipson besides alleged that Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass was incapable to enactment independently, suggesting that she has been taking her queues from Newsom.

"I cognize Karen Bass did spell successful and said, ‘this is not the mode to protest.’ They wanted peaceful protest, but that’s not what we had," Gipson said. "She’s taking her instructions from Sacramento and Gavin Newsom. If she had amended enactment from him, I deliberation we would person been disconnected a batch amended that we are now."

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Newsom attempted to formed blasted connected President Donald Trump for escalating the protests, claiming that they were peaceful demonstrations earlier the National Guard and his rhetoric accelerated the conflict.

"Gavin Newsom does not person a grip connected California," helium said. "If helium had said, ‘[President] Trump, tin you travel and assistance america hole for this? I deliberation helium [Trump] would person helped.

"Newsom is evidently mounting up for his contention successful 2028 and helium is going to formed the blasted connected Trump, saying that Trump didn’t bash his job."

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The consequences of what Gipson described arsenic "soft-on-crime" policies are, successful his view, compounding the unrest. He cited the state’s nonaccomplishment to decently money Proposition 36, which was overwhelmingly passed successful 2024 to curb backmost the extremist policies of Proposition 47, arsenic impervious of Sacramento’s disregard for nationalist safety.

"Gavin Newsom is not backing Prop 36. Store owners can’t adjacent spell aft criminals. Patrons are frightened to shop. People won’t adjacent get connected the freeway toward LA now," Gipson said. "They’re acrophobic a brick’s going to travel flying done their car window."

A instrumentality enforcement serviceman works to enactment retired a occurrence during a protestation successful Compton, Calif., Saturday, June 7, 2025, aft national migration authorities conducted operations. (Ethan Swope)

Reflecting connected his acquisition arsenic a erstwhile sheriff's deputy, Gipson said the authorities of instrumentality enforcement morale successful L.A. is dire.

"Law enforcement has not been capable to bash their job," helium said. "Officers are afraid, virtually afraid, to bash their jobs due to the fact that they don’t privation to spell to jailhouse for pursuing their training. There’s nary backing from Newsom, nary from Bass."

"They’re handcuffed," helium added.

"For implicit 10 years, Gavin Newsom has not protected law enforcement successful California. They’ve been defunded, defamed and demoralized. And present they wait. They hesitate. And erstwhile you hesitate successful this enactment of work, radical get hurt."

Several cars pain connected a North Los Angeles thoroughfare during clashes betwixt protesters and constabulary connected June 8, 2025, successful Downtown Los Angeles, California.  (Vondruska/Getty Images)

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Gipson besides faulted the bureaucratic concatenation of bid for paralyzing instrumentality enforcement astatine captious moments.

"The sheriff answers to the Board of Supervisors. The LAPD main answers to the mayor. And erstwhile they can’t apprehension radical close away, the unit conscionable keeps going," helium said.

The solution, Gipson argued, is straightforward: consequences.

In a connection to Fox News Digital, Newsom‘s bureau said that the Trump medication "didn’t adjacent pat into the further resources disposable to cleanable up their mess."

"Let’s beryllium clear: The National Guard wasn’t needed successful Los Angeles. State and section instrumentality enforcement were responding, and national agencies didn’t adjacent pat into the further resources disposable to cleanable up their mess. Calls for troops to grip a protestation amusement a basal misunderstanding of however nationalist information works — which is alternatively shocking for idiosyncratic who utilized to person a badge."

Fox News Digital reached retired to Bass' bureau for comment.