Culver City figures adamantly reject U.S. Attorney General criticism

Culver City Mayor Freddy Puza and other elected officials responded to comments made by Attorney General Pam Bondi on the city, rejecting her criticisms as unfounded. Bondi referred to Culver City by name when discussing crime in U.S. Representative Sydney Kamlager-Dove’s Congressional District, and public representatives of Culver City’s community unanimously rejected and denounced her critique.

The comments came during Bondi’s testimony to the House Judiciary Committee, centered on her involvement in the handling of documents related to the investigation of Jeffrey Epstein and the Justice Department’s actions against President Donald Trump’s political foes. Bondi came prepared to criticize members of that Committee including Kamlager-Dove, who represents California's 37th Congressional District that includes Culver City.

Bondi mentioned Culver City when trying to criticize the Congresswoman over the perceived crime in her District. Culver City is a sanctuary city that does not cooperate with federal immigration enforcement that has served as one of the primary directives of the Trump administration, and captured widespread attention when Enrique Lozano was detained in the city and released from custody more than 100 days later.

"Her district includes Culver City, and she's not talking about any crime in her district,” Bondi said during an exchange with Kamlager-Dove on Wednesday. “Nothing about helping crime in her district. She's not even worth getting into the details."

Some of Culver City’s most prominent public figures, including Mayor Freddy Puza, gave public statements in response to Bondi’s disparagement. Puza pointed to the city’s declining crime numbers — Q3 of 2025 saw 6.1% less crime than the same time in 2024, and crime in 2024 decreased by 9.7% overall from 2023 — who expressed appreciation for Kamlager-Dove’s leadership and praised the work of city departments that make Culver City a safe and healthy place to live.

“The City launched a Mobile Crisis Team, which is an unarmed response to people experiencing a mental health crisis,” Puza said in a statement. “The facts simply do not support the Attorney General’s narrative from today’s Congressional hearing.”

Puza's full statement can be found by clicking here.

Culver City Police Department Public Information Manager Jennifer Atenza noted that the Department’s Transparency Page has publicly available crime data spanning as far back as 2019. The CCPD invites those interested to view crime statistics for Culver City here.

Councilmember Dan O’Brien noted that he has never felt unsafe living in Culver City in his statement to Culver Crescent. He argued that safety is one of the key factors that make Culver City a popular place to visit and praised the role of the city’s Police and Fire Departments in contributing to that.

“Our police and fire are amongst the most responsive public safety agencies in Los Angeles County,” O’Brien told Culver Crescent. “They’ll be at your door in less than four minutes if there’s a crime committed.”

On top of social media posts on the topic, Vice Mayor Bubba Fish told Culver Crescent that Bondi’s comments had a much different effect than what she intended.

“Attorney General Bondi tried to deflect from her obstruction of justice by taking a swing at Culver City,” Fish said, “She missed, and instead ignited a celebration of our city and what makes it special.”

School Board Member Triston Ezidore released a statement Thursday morning that Bondi was seeking her “viral moment” by erroneously implying Culver City was “crime-ridden” and not focused on the right things.

“While Pam is clearly obsessed with pushing fear, we’re focused on building opportunity for our students and strengthening our community,” Ezidore’s statement reads.

Ezidore also published a social media post sharing a similar sentiment.

This story will be updated with additional statements as they are released or received.