Public Safety Committee · Held · Special

Los Angeles City Council Public Safety Committee special meeting, October 20, 2026

October 20, 2026, 2:15 p.m. · Updated October 22, 2026

From official records: The Los Angeles City Council's Public Safety Committee voted 3-2 at a special meeting on Oct. 20, 2026 to recommend that the Council veto the Police Commission's approval of the City's agreement with Axon Enterprise, Inc. for the Lightpost Test Pilot Program, a pilot of license plate readers on City streetlights. Curren D. Price Jr., Nithya Raman and Hugo Soto-Martínez voted yes; John Lee and Traci Park voted no. On Oct. 21, 2026 the Council continued the item to Oct. 27, 2026, 10-0, the last day for Council action (CF 26-1394).

As of October 22, 2026, outcomes for the October 20, 2026 meeting of the Public Safety Committee of the Los Angeles City Council come from official records posted so far, such as council files, recorded votes and filed statements. Some results may be missing until the full minutes are posted and read.

The special meeting agenda, posted Oct. 16, 2026 and “Called by Committee Chair,” sets the meeting for 2:15 p.m. in the John Ferraro Council Chamber, Room 340, City Hall. The Clerk’s meeting notice gives Room 401, so the two records conflict on the room. Public comment is in person only. The committee’s regular 2 p.m. meeting in Room 401 that day was cancelled: “THE REGULAR MEETING FOR THIS DAY HAS BEEN CANCELLED,” the Clerk’s notice says (PrimeGov notice).

Committee members since Aug. 31, 2026, per the Council President’s assignment letter: John S. Lee (chair), Curren D. Price Jr. (vice chair), Traci Park, Nithya Raman and Hugo Soto-Martínez. The agenda lists the same five members.

1. Council review of the Axon streetlight license plate reader pilot

• What it does: The agenda lists a Board of Police Commissioners report, dated Oct. 16, 2026, on approval of a memorandum of understanding between the City and Axon Enterprise, Inc. for the Lightpost Test Pilot Program, with an attachment on the pilot (agenda; report, attachment). The item is before the committee because the Council asserted jurisdiction under Charter Section 245 over the Commission’s Sept. 22, 2026 action (agenda). The motion that started the file says the Commission’s action does not need Council approval to take effect, and that the aim is “not necessarily to veto the action, but primarily to provide the public with an additional opportunity to learn about these proposed additional guardrails” (motion).
• Who brought it: Hugo Soto-Martínez, seconded by Marqueece Harris-Dawson, on Oct. 2, 2026 (CF 26-1394).
• The pilot: The Los Angeles Daily News reported that the Commission approved “a three-month pilot program” placing cameras “solely” on City-owned streetlights “at no cost to the city,” with the City and LAPD keeping “sole and exclusive ownership of all data, images, video, plate reads, metadata and derived or algorithmic outputs.” The Commission’s vote was 3-0, the Daily News reported (Daily News via Officer.com, Sept. 23, 2026).
• Earlier action: On Oct. 6, 2026 the Council adopted the motion forthwith, 10-4. Bob Blumenfield, John Lee, Traci Park and Monica Rodriguez voted no, and Katy Yaroslavsky was absent (Council Action, CF 26-1394).
• Public comment: The council file lists public communications filed from Oct. 10 to Oct. 20, 2026, speaker cards from this meeting, and no neighborhood council Community Impact Statements (CF 26-1394).
• Coverage: The Los Angeles Times reported that Soto-Martínez said the delay would give the public and City leaders more time to examine the safeguards in the proposed agreement, and that Park said there is an urgent need to get the devices “up and running.” The Times also reported that the Council said it lacked authority over a separate 10-year, $235 million Axon contract (Los Angeles Times via Police1, Oct. 9, 2026).
• LAPD presentation: The council file holds an Oct. 20, 2026 presentation from the LAPD Information Technology Bureau. It says the readers capture a vehicle and plate image with the date, time, location and some vehicle features. It says they do not include facial recognition, biometric identification or audio recording, and that the data is not shared outside California or with federal immigration officials. It lists monthly inspections, external audits and expanded public reporting as safeguards (LAPD presentation).
• What happened: After public comment, the committee voted 3-2 to recommend that the Council veto, under Charter Section 245, the Police Commission’s Sept. 22, 2026 approval of the agreement. Curren D. Price Jr., Nithya Raman and Hugo Soto-Martínez voted yes. John Lee and Traci Park voted no (committee report, CF 26-1394). The report says the Police Commission submitted no fiscal impact statement, and neither the City Administrative Officer nor the Chief Legislative Analyst has done a financial analysis (committee report).
• What’s next: At its Oct. 21, 2026 meeting, the Council continued the item to Oct. 27, 2026, 10-0. Eunisses Hernandez, Imelda Padilla, Nithya Raman, Hugo Soto-Martínez and Katy Yaroslavsky were absent (CF 26-1394). Oct. 27, 2026 is the last day for Council action under Charter Section 245 (committee report). The committee’s recommendation is “NOT OFFICIAL UNTIL COUNCIL ACTS,” the report says.

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