Actress Anne-Marie Johnson, a supporter of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, is calling on mayoral candidate Nithya Raman to apologize for praising a controversial policy associated with former LAPD Chief Daryl Gates. Johnson described Raman’s remarks as a “historical error” and a deeply personal insult.
Johnson, known for her work in Hill Street Blues and Double Trouble, made the pointed criticism Thursday at an event hosted by Bass.
“Nithya, where’s the apology?” Johnson said, addressing the camera directly. “We’re running out of time. We need an apology.”
Her comments followed a heated mayoral debate in which Raman challenged Bass over reports that the Los Angeles Police Department had shared information with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The issue has become especially contentious among liberal Angelenos who oppose President Donald Trump’s deportation policies.
Raman argued that Los Angeles had moved away from its past resistance to federal immigration enforcement, pointing to the years when Gates led the LAPD.
“This city used to be the gold standard in terms of non-cooperation with immigration enforcement, years ago under the era of Daryl Gates,” Raman said during the debate.
“And now under this mayor, we’ve actually lost trust from our immigrant community in our city and in our law enforcement,” she continued.
Bass has sharply rejected that comparison, saying Raman’s comments ignore Los Angeles’ history of police misconduct—particularly its impact on Black and Latino communities during Gates’ tenure.
“My opponent is not really familiar with L.A., especially the Black community,” Bass said. “She doesn’t know us.”
Gates became nationally associated with police brutality during his time as LAPD chief. His tenure included the 1991 beating of Black motorist Rodney King, while the acquittal of the officers involved in 1992 helped trigger the Los Angeles riots.
Johnson said Raman’s comments carried particular weight for her. Her father worked as a police officer with Gates, and Johnson currently lives in Raman’s City Council district.
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“I think I’m the only African American she sees,” Johnson said sarcastically.
She also cited one of Gates’ most widely condemned statements: his claim that Black men could be more likely to die from police chokeholds because their veins or arteries allegedly failed to open as quickly as those of “normal people.”
“Gold standard there, Daryl Gates,” Johnson said in response to Raman’s description.
“This is what ignorance brings to us. This is what a limited education from social media brings to us,” Johnson said. She added that she wanted to leave an encyclopedia at Raman’s doorstep so the councilmember could better understand “the power and the pain and the domestic terrorism” endured by Los Angeles residents during Gates’ leadership. Johnson again demanded an apology.
Johnson also recalled the struggles her family faced as one of the few Black families attempting to move into Silver Lake, a neighborhood now located within Raman’s district.
“This is all very personal to me,” Johnson said.
Raman has responded to Bass’ attacks in a video statement, calling Gates “an abhorrent and racist police chief.” She said her debate remarks were focused specifically on Special Order 40, rather than an endorsement of Gates himself.
The policy was intended to reassure immigrants that they could report crimes or cooperate as witnesses without automatically facing deportation. However, it did not bar the LAPD from coordinating with federal immigration authorities.
“Over and over, I have challenged Mayor Bass over reports of LAPD cooperation with ICE under her leadership,” Raman said in a statement. “Now Mayor Bass is deliberately twisting my words to distract from the questions she is refusing to answer.”
Gates resigned in 1992 amid mounting criticism of police abuse, with the Rodney King beating becoming a defining scandal of his tenure.
