Indianapolis, June 9, 2025. The National Police Association (NPA) condemns in the strongest possible terms the refusal of California’s elected officials to instruct demonstrators to stop blocking public streets and highways during the ongoing anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) protests.
Over the weekend and into this morning, protesters repeatedly blocked the 101 Freeway and key surface streets in Los Angeles. Regardless of California’s law banning cooperation with ICE, local police are still the first and last line of defense in keeping roadways open to ensure the ability of emergency services to reach those in need.
Instead of protecting public safety, the offices of the Mayor of Los Angeles and the Governor of California were silent on mobs forcing confrontations with local law enforcement officers, compelling the Los Angeles Police Department to declare multiple unlawful assemblies. State and local law enforcement made dozens of arrests despite being overwhelmingly outnumbered and suffering injuries.
Even though these criminal blockades pose a clear danger to the public and first responders, Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass have limited their public remarks to criticizing the enforcement of federal law and calling vaguely for “peaceful demonstrations.” Neither has issued a plea for demonstrators to keep public roads and highways clear, nor have they acknowledged the obvious public-safety crisis created when ambulances, fire apparatus, and ordinary commuters are trapped behind human barricades.
The NPA calls for immediate action from Governor Newsom, Mayor Bass, and every California official who holds public trust:
1. Publicly and unequivocally instruct protesters to cease blocking highways and streets.
2. Affirm support for law enforcement officers tasked with restoring order and acknowledge the injuries already sustained.
NPA spokesperson Sgt. Betsy Brantner Smith stated, “Californians have the right to protest; they do not have the right to paralyze vital arteries, endanger lives, or attack police officers. Until state leaders make that distinction clear, they remain complicit in the chaos. The National Police Association stands with the officers on the front lines and with the citizens whose safety depends on swift, decisive leadership, not political complicity.”
About the National Police Association: The National Police Association (NPA) is a nonprofit organization supporting law enforcement through advocacy, education, and law. For more information, visit NationalPolice.org.
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