Councilman's On-Stage Emergency Prompts Mayor Bass To Rush To His Aid

LOS ANGELES, CA — A member of the Los Angeles City Council was hospitalized Wednesday after suffering a health issue on stage at a public event Wednesday.

Mayor Karen Bass — a former nurse — helped tend to him before paramedics arrived.

City Councilman Curren Price, 74, was in attendance at the Wednesday morning event celebration the groundbreaking of the Los Angeles Convention Center expansion project.

He appeared to become dizzy as people were speaking at the event and ended up lying on the ground behind the podium, KTLA reported. The station posted a video of the incident.

Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics responded to the scene and placed the councilman in a wheelchair and took him to a waiting ambulance.

"During today's groundbreaking for the expansion of the Los Angeles Convention Center, Council member Curren Price experienced a health-related incident," Price spokeswoman Angelina Valencia-Dumarot said in a statement. "After undergoing initial evaluations, medical experts determined that he was suffering from dehydration. Out of an abundance of caution, he will continue to be monitored.

"Council member Price is deeply grateful for the tremendous outpouring of love and support from the community. He extends special thanks to the Los Angeles Fire Department and the medical professionals who provided immediate care, as well as to his colleagues, Council members Heather Hutt and Hugo Soto-Martínez, and Mayor Karen Bass, who quickly stepped forward to assist him.

"Council member Price remains committed to the people of District 9 and Los Angeles. Today's incident will not lessen his dedication to serving families, strengthening neighborhoods, and working alongside the community to build a brighter future for all Angelenos."

Price has represented the Ninth District, which includes most of South Los Angeles and Exposition Park, since 2013. He previously served in the state Assembly and state Senate.

He was charged in 2023 with multiple public corruption counts alleging he voted to approve projects involving developers who had paid money to a consulting company owned by Price's wife. He is scheduled to appear in court Nov. 3, when a hearing will be held to determine if there is enough evidence for him to stand trial.

This is not the first time Bass has called on her nursing experience at a public event.

In 2023, Bass rushed to the aid of a photographer who suffered a medical emergency during a recruit graduation ceremony at the Los Angeles Police Department's Elysian Park Training Academy.

City News Service contributed to this report.