Professional career
Law enforcement career
James Butts joined the police force of Inglewood,California,in 1972. [7] He held several positions as a police officer,SWAT team commander,undercover officer, [8] and robbery homicide detective. [5] Butts was promoted to Sergeant in 1981,to Lieutenant in 1984,and then to Commanding Officer of the narcotics division in 1986. He led a team of 30 undercover agents that helped reduce drug trafficking in the Dixon-Darby and Lockhaven neighborhoods. [8] In 1986,Butts was promoted to Chief of Operations and became the first African American at that level within a South Bay,California,police department. [8]
In 1991,Butts moved to Santa Monica to accept the position of Chief of Police, [7] a position he served until 2006. [9] During Butts's tenure,crime was reduced by 64 percent. [10] Early in his tenure,Butts conducted a month-long crime assessment at the city council's request. In his assessment,Butts concluded that drug dealing and violent crime at Palisades Park could be reduced by enforcing a city ordinance against sleeping in public parks. The city ordinance had been controversial;its enforcement was opposed by city attorney Robert M. Myers,who refused to write the ordinance or prosecute violators. [11] [12] As a result of his refusal,Myers was terminated by the Santa Monica City Council majority. The law was approved and Butts enforced it. The enforcement of this ordinance was credited with making the parks available for seniors and youth use. [13]
In 1995,Butts was one of five police officers named as defendants in a lawsuit alleging the police department was engaging in post- Miranda invocation questioning that violated Miranda rights. [14] [15] [16] In 2000,the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the police officers were accountable for Miranda violations,despite arguments by the police officers that they qualify for immunity since they were trained that continued questioning was allowed. [17] [18]
During Butts's tenure as Chief of Police,one of his direct reports was Eric Uller,the department's lead systems analyst who was accused of sexual abuse by over 200 people,many of whom were children at the time. Despite not being a law enforcement officer,Uller was given an unmarked police vehicle for his personal use,which was considered by others in the department to be improper,and he allegedly used it to transport victims and commit his crimes. Although many former Santa Monica employees told investigators in 2018 that they reported Uller's misconduct,Butts claimed in 2023 that "he was never made aware of any allegations against Uller." [19] The city of Santa Monica paid out nearly $230 million in settlements to Uller's victims. [20]
In 2006,Butts took a position as the head of security and law enforcement for Public Safety Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA). [21] According to the Los Angeles Times,Butts improved training and discipline at LAWA and fostered better relationships with local law enforcement agencies. In 2009,the TSA named LA International Airport as the most secure Cat X airport in the United States. [22]
Mayor of Inglewood
After returning to Inglewood,Butts began campaigning for mayor. His primary platform was a promise to reduce crime. Inglewood has a high crime rate,and its former mayor pleaded guilty to public corruption charges. [23] He was elected as the mayor of Inglewood,California,on January 27,2011. He won against incumbent Danny Tabor by a vote of 3,776 to 3,000. The Los Angeles Sentinel described it as a "tumultuous year of elections" for the city,with a close race between the two candidates. [24] The city was operating at an $18 million deficit. Butts said he would overhaul the city's finances. [24] His first State of the City address focused on public safety,finances and city leadership. [25]
According to the Los Angeles Business Journal,the city's biggest budgeting problem at the time was unfunded liabilities. The city had an agreement with local unions that required the city to pay benefits for the rest of an employee's life,even if the employee had worked for the city for only a few years. Butts negotiated with six unions to reduce this to 15 years with benefits that scale down over time. [10] Butts and the City Council initiated a series of infrastructure repair and renovation projects. $1.18 million was spent on sewer projects compared to $140,000 the prior year. [10] In December 2013,citizens protested in front of Butts's personal residence in response to expected layoffs of 50 city employees. Butts and the unions disagreed over whether the layoffs were necessary to balance the city budget. [26]
Under Butts,the city has re-paved more street lanes,miles of roadway,and fixed linear feet of sidewalk than under any previous administration. Major corridors,including Century Boulevard,Florence Avenue,and Imperial Highway,some of which had not undergone significant reconstruction for approximately two decades,were also rebuilt. [27] According to the Los Angeles Sentinel,Butts was the "driving force" behind a renovation of Inglewood's entertainment venue,The Forum,which was approved by the Inglewood City Council in May 2012. [7] [28] [29] As a police officer,Butts worked at Lakers and Kings games at the Forum for almost two decades. [7] He is credited with "cutting through bureaucratic red tape" to move the renovation project forward. [30] The Forum was re-launched in 2014 with a $100 million renovation. [23] Butts was re-elected as mayor in November 2014 with 83 percent of the vote,the largest margin in Inglewood history. [31] He was elected to the board of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority in December 2014,succeeding Santa Monica Mayor Pam O'Connor. [32]
In August 2015,the city of Inglewood initiated a widely criticized copyright infringement lawsuit against a citizen who was posting negative videos about Butts on YouTube using footage from city council meetings. [33] [34] [35] A federal judge dismissed the lawsuit,as California law bars cities from claiming ownership of council videos,criticized the city officials for the apparent attempt to restrict Teixeira’s political speech and ordered the city to pay more than $117,000 for Teixeira's legal fees. [36] [34]
NFL
Butts lobbied for a $1.86 billion proposal to build an NFL stadium,which the city council approved in February 2015. [23] He also convinced the NFL to relocate the Rams to the stadium in 2016,after 20 years without a professional team in the Los Angeles area,and brokered a deal with Stockbridge Capital Group to purchase 238 acres for the stadium and entertainment complex. [5] [37]
In 2016,Inglewood's former budget and accounting manager Barbara Ohno sued Butts and the city,claiming she was fired for blowing the whistle on accounting irregularities when the city was pursuing the NFL deal. She alleged Butts and his administration engaged in faulty accounting practices,fraudulent regulatory reporting,and reclassification of costs to depict a false financial picture. The city denied the claim and the lawsuit was settled in 2017. [34] [38] [39] [40]
According to USA Today,Butts has been "flattered by supporters" and "irritated by skeptics" on the deal. [5] According to a March 2015 article in The Los Angeles Times,Butts made Inglewood an "unlikely frontrunner" as a potential home to an NFL team,but he was "criticized as dictatorial." Some citizens suspected budget approval was rushed because the city was under the influence of stadium developers,who made $100,000 in donations to the city. Butts said the same stadium developers also donated to his political opponents. [23] In a 14-page report commissioned by opponents of the stadium plan,former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge warned that because of its proximity to LAX,terrorists could score a "terrorist event 'twofer' by shooting down an airplane over the stadium. Aviation experts,in a study commissioned by city of Inglewood,disputed the report’s claims. Butts called the Ridge report "fraudulent." [41]
Ethics investigations
In 2018,an investigation by the California Fair Political Practices Commission,the Los Angeles County District Attorney,and the FBI began into the award of a 2012 trash hauling pact contract. [34] The contract,valued at $100 million,went to a bidder with personal connections to current Mayor James T. Butts. The successful bidder,Consolidated Disposal Services,secured the contract soon after hiring Michael Butts,brother of Mayor Butts,as an operations manager. Another firm had refused to hire Michael and was not awarded the contract,even though their bid was $11 million less. [42] [43]
Butts was also found to have loaned $150,000 to the election campaigns of longtime Inglewood Councilman George Dotson and was accused of failing to disclose the status of repayments. [44]
Madison Square Garden Co. lawsuit
In March 2018,the Madison Square Garden Co.,which owns The Forum in Inglewood,filed a lawsuit against Butts and other city agencies for fraud and breach of contract. MSG alleged that Butts tricked them into terminating their lease of city-owned land by saying the city was going to use it to develop a technology park. Once MSG gave up the lease,they allege that Butts and the city of Inglewood engaged in secret talks with the Los Angeles Clippers to develop Intuit Dome on that land. [45] [46]
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office concluded in 2019 that the City of Inglewood violated state disclosure law during negotiations with the Clippers to build an arena. Butts disputed the DA office's letter detailing its conclusion. [34]
Vehicle collision and lawsuits
In May 2019,Butts was driving a city-owned vehicle and turned left on a red light. He collided with a vehicle coming the other direction and then his vehicle hit a LAPD motorcycle officer,who was thrown into a water fountain and injured. [47] The officer suffered from broken ribs,nervous system damage,and permanent physical disability,and he and his wife filed a lawsuit against Butts and the city of Inglewood. The driver of the other vehicle also filed a lawsuit against the city for injuries suffered by her and her 4-year-old son. A third lawsuit was filed by the city of Los Angeles against the city of Inglewood for $290,000 in damages,to cover the LAPD officer's workers' compensation and damage to city property. [48]
Relationship with employee and lawsuit
In 2010,Butts began a romantic relationship with Melanie McDade-Dickens,who worked on his mayoral campaign. [49] After his election,he hired McDade-Dickens as his executive assistant and she was later promoted to aide to the city manager,with a salary of more than $300,000,yet Butts never disclosed their relationship. [49] [50] McDade-Dickens alleged that during the relationship,Butts insisted that she perform sexual acts with him in his office at City Hall;performed hypnosis on her;and made her massage his feet up to four times a day. [49] McDade-Dickens ended the relationship in March 2018 and she alleged that Butts took away some of her work responsibilities;barred her from meetings;yelled,cursed at and threatened her in the office;texted her hundreds of times;followed her to a salon to confront her about who she was dating;and entered her home without permission on more than a dozen occasions,standing over her bed to watch her sleep and frightening her daughter. [50] [51] In July 2018,McDade-Dickens was escorted out of Inglewood City Hall by a security guard and placed on administrative leave;the city of Inglewood then fired her in January 2020. [52]
In January 2021,McDade-Dickens sued Butts and the city of Inglewood for wrongful termination,sexual harassment and retaliation. In August 2021,she filed a second lawsuit alleging that Butts continued to stalk and harass her and intimidate her clients,in order to destroy her business and interfere with her ability to earn a living. [53] An attorney for the city said Butts "denies any and all allegations of coercion or harassment." [49]
Treatment of other women and lawsuits
In June 2018,after Inglewood resident activist Diane Sambrano criticized the City Council during one of its meetings,Butts was heard on a video recording saying,"Go choke yourself,Diane," into his microphone afterwards. [35] Butts later told USA Today ,"That lady irritates me but I don't recall saying it. If I did say it and it was caught on microphone,boy,I'm sorry." [34]
When Inglewood Treasurer Wanda Brown attempted to discuss concerns at City Council meetings in 2020 about overspending,the city’s debt,and a first-time home-buyer program benefiting city employees,Butts reduced her speaking time and cut off her microphone. [54] He claimed Brown was misleading people about the city's fiscal stability and later removed her from City Council meeting agendas and barred her from council chambers. The City Council later stripped Brown,a breast cancer patient who served in the role for 32 years,of many of her duties and cut her annual salary by 83% to $16,850. [55] [56] In August 2021,Brown filed a lawsuit against Butts and the city for defamation,retaliation and emotional distress,seeking lost wages,lost retirement benefits and attorney's fees. [57] A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge dismissed the defamation portion of the lawsuit in September 2022,but allowed the retaliation allegations to move forward. [58]
In October 2024,Inglewood's District 1 Councilwoman,Gloria Gray,filed a complaint against Butts,accusing him of creating a hostile work environment and engaging in intimidating and retaliatory behavior. She alleged that he withheld support for District 1 initiatives affecting her constituents and requested an independent investigation. [59]
