To the surprise of absolutely no one who has watched the LA Times bend over backward to serve the political class since Patrick Soon‑Shiong purchased it in 2018, the publication recently delivered a sanitized, PR-burnished rendition of LAPD dysfunction – a narrative clearly designed to prop up Mayor Karen Bass, who has been staggering under one political hit after another, most notably the cover-ups and corruption tied to the Palisades Fire.
The story neatly, and conveniently, sidestepped the people who actually lived the chaos – and now former LAPD Assistant Chief Al Labrada is now calling out them directly, taking to his social media to publish the true facts in the case: a years-long pattern of retaliation, buried investigations, and top-down protection surrounding a single LAPD Captain who wielded so much unchecked power that even the department’s own command staff privately admitted he had become “an uncontrollable monster.”
It starts with a slur, one the department buried.
In 2020, Captain Johnny Smith allegedly directed a racial epithet, “wetback”, at a fellow LAPD Captain. A sergeant witnessed it. A complaint was initiated. In any just system, that moment would have triggered immediate removal and a sustained investigation. Instead, according to Labrada, then Chief Michel Moore suppressed the administrative case long enough for the statute of limitations to expire, a bureaucratic sleight of hand that wiped out any chance of discipline and shielded Smith entirely from consequences.
Labrada also exposes what happened behind the scenes of Moore’s rise: before Moore was selected as Chief, Smith allegedly threatened multiple employees, including Labrada, telling them to support Moore “or suffer consequences.” Once Moore was installed, Smith leaned into the connection like a personal power supply.
Labrada says Smith abused his position as community liaison to demand personal favors far outside the bounds of his role, including pressuring the Mexican Consulate for help securing paperwork for Galpin Ford owner Bert Boeckmann’s family and others. And in the darkest allegation of all, Smith repeatedly claimed to possess sexually explicit photos of Moore, which he allegedly used as personal leverage.
Moore’s inability, or unwillingness, to check this behavior came to a head during the 2020 civil unrest. While Los Angeles burned, Smith was absent from his command responsibilities, reportedly out on a Unity cycling ride. Yet he still wielded enough influence to retaliate against anyone who challenged him. Even transferring the Captain he targeted to another division didn’t stop the harassment. According to Labrada, when Internal Affairs questioned Smith about the “wetback” slur, he threatened the sergeant witness, telling him, “Just know that you’re in front of a very powerful train here. Do you think you’re going to make lieutenant if you’re involved in stuff like this?”
That is not leadership. That is coercion. And the Times printed none of it.
Labrada also details an incident on October 22, 2025, when Smith was at Langer’s with Skobin, behaving erratically, loudly cursing LAPD for nearly an hour, yelling “fuck LAPD and fuck this guy and fuck that guy.” This wasn’t a private meltdown. It was a public spectacle by a senior LAPD Captain confident he was untouchable, because for years, he was.
Smith’s protection even extended to orchestrated harassment at Police Commission meetings. According to Labrada, Smith financially supported an unemployed former BBQ restaurant owner with multiple state tax liens to show up and launch vulgar, targeted attacks at both active and former LAPD employees, specifically those who tried to hold Smith accountable. These weren’t organic criticisms. They were proxy assaults sponsored from within the department’s own command staff.
And then comes the moment that underscores everything Labrada is now putting on the record. In March 2022, a conference call with Deputy City Attorney Sung, Assistant Chief Girmala, Commander Randolph, and Labrada took place to address ongoing conflict between Smith and another Captain. On that call, Sung and Girmala openly acknowledged that Moore had “created an uncontrollable monster” in Smith. They further admitted that disciplinary action was “improbable” because Smith was Moore’s protected confidant.
This is the truth the LA Times omitted, a truth that exposes LAPD’s deeply-rooted culture of protectionism, retaliation, and selective discipline that rewards loyalty to the Chief over integrity to the badge.
As Labrada launches #UnwaveringStrength, he is putting daylight on the disparity between how Moore protected his inner-circle allies versus how he treated everyone else. Smith is only one example, but he is the clearest: a rogue Captain shielded from accountability, feared inside the ranks, and ironically stalled in his own career because protection can’t replace competence.
The LA Times framed the story as bureaucratic friction and messaging disputes. What they left out is the heart of the crisis: a command structure corrupted by personal alliances, political threats, and a Chief whose loyalty to one Captain compromised the safety, integrity, and morale of an entire department.
Labrada’s account isn’t a footnote the LA Times forgot to include. It IS the story.
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