LAPD drills Olympic Village security amid looming officer shortfall

Police officers conducted a large-scale training operation at UCLA’s Hendrick Hall, the designated athletes’ housing for the 2028 Summer Olympics, recreating a terrorist assault with actors portraying hostages and shooters. The exercise, which involved helicopters, tactical gear and automatic weapons, lasted five hours and was described by Chief Jim McDonnell as a successful rehearsal for both Olympic security and everyday campus incidents.

McDonnell warned that the LAPD’s current force of roughly 8,550 officers falls short of the roughly 12,500 needed to protect the city, let alone the 7,500 officers required daily for the Games. To bridge the gap, the department will draw on personnel from other California agencies and out-of-state forces. With 2,500 officers assigned to Olympic sites, only about 6,000 will remain for regular policing, prompting concerns about resource allocation during the 87-day Olympic and Paralympic period.