Los Angeles and some other cities in California operate under their own charters, while many smaller "general law" cities are governed according to rules in state law.
Los Angeles County provides public health services for the City of Los Angeles, yet the city has a Health Commission that is largely ignored for being redundant.
Los Angeles mayors are cat-herders, not thumb-breakers. They lead a city that must share power with the county. Their choice is to "lock arms" and lead together, or fail.
When police come in the form of large contingents of federal agents who dress and behave like soldiers, they can for all practical purposes occupy cities militarily just as surely as the Marines or the National Guard.
