As most readers know, on Friday morning, Oct 4, Mayor Karen Bass announced her selection of former LA County Sheriff Jim McDonnell as the next chief of the Los Angeles Police Department.
McDonnell was one of three finalists chosen by the city’s police commission, out of more than two dozen applicants.
Of the three left in the finals, however, no one came close to having the depth and breadth of McDonnell’s experience in law enforcement, which appeared to strongly affect the mayor’s choice.
Yet, a notable number of LAPD watchers we spoke with questioned whether choosing a white guy to head up the nation’s third largest police department, with its diverse constituency, was the best decision—experience notwithstanding.
McDonnell came close to being the chief fifteen years ago in November 2009, when then mayor Antonio Villaraigosa chose between another three finalists: McDonnell, Mike Moore, and Charlie Beck, with McDonnell and Beck appearing to be the top two.
Obviously it was Beck who was selected that year.
When Beck announced his retirement in January 2018, McDonnell was beginning his fourth year as LA County Sheriff, and Mayor Eric Garcetti selected Moore out of that year’s threesome picked by the police commissioners.
Fast forward to January 2024, when Chief Moore announced his retirement. Finally, McDonnell was again free to apply for the position of chief, which had always been his dream job. And Mayor Bass decided he was her guy.
There is, of course, much more to the story, which we’ll explore in a follow-up to this quickie news brief.
So watch this space.