The anti-ICE protest that tore through Los Angeles last week, which left hundreds of protestors injured, also took a severe financial toll on the city, it has emerged.
The total bill for the unrest has been estimated at nearly $20 million, primarily for police overtime and vandalism repairs, according to Matt Szabo, the city’s top budget analyst.
The Los Angeles Police Department spent a total of $16.9 million, including $11.7 million on police overtime, and $780,601 on damage repairs at City Hall, the LAPD’s headquarters, and other city buildings through June 16, reports The Los Angeles Times.
Szabo, whose role is a public works commissioner for the city, told the LA Times that he expects these costs to increase.
Police say over 500 arrests were made during the protests, which erupted after Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained large groups of undocumented immigrants in the fashion district in Downtown LA, home to a large Latino population.
ICE targeted dozens in raids on June 6, particularly at Ambiance Apparel, a clothing wholesaler.
Adnan Akram, owner of nearby clothes wholesaler I Heart Fashion along Santee Alley, said stores in the area became “ghost towns” in the days that followed.
Meanwhile, protests broke out across the area outside a handful of federal buildings, as well as near the Metropolitan Detention Center.
Law enforcement officers used flash bangs, foam rounds, batons, and other tactics to push protesters out of the way.
An Australian news presenter was even captured being hit by a rubber bullet while live on air.
On Monday, the Los Angeles Press Club sued the city of Los Angeles and its police chief, Jim McDonnell, over alleged police violence, including 20 injuries to journalists, with at least five that required medical attention.
Mayor Karen Bass imposed a curfew on June 10 in Downtown LA to try and control the chaos, and "to stop the vandalism, to stop the looting," she said at the time. It lasted from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.
Almost a week later, Bass decided to reduce the curfew by trimming down the hours on Monday to start at 10 p.m., rather than at 8 p.m., and extend until 6 a.m. Tuesday.
Her announcement came as the city began to wind down with no police arrests reported Sunday.
Just a day earlier, millions of people participated in the anti-Trump “No Kings” protests, which sprang up across dozens of U.S. cities.
The Independent contacted ICE for the most up-to-date statistics on the number of arrests made.
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