Don Knabe has broken with the prevailing trend and, instead of nominating an august and respected former judge as his pick for the LA County Supe’s Jail Violence Commission—-Knabe picked a guy with his own badge and a gun.
Here’s how it happened: it seems that Knabe turned to Long Beach Chief of Police Jim McDonnell to help him vet candidates that he might consider nominating as his pick for the newly forming Commission.
McDonnell who, before his Long Beach gig, was the Assistant Chief of Police right under Bill Bratton (and was on the short list to become LAPD Chief when Bratton left) is highly respected by law enforcement types around So Cal. Plus he was awarded the Medal of Valor in his LAPD days, is the immediate past president of the California Peace Office Association, and knows everybody. In addition, he’s smart: He used to teach a class at UCLA’s school of public policy, and lectures about law enforcement issues all around the world.
So, yeah, you might say he knows the relevant territory.
Alright, so, anyway, there’s the Supervisor talking to McDonnell when all at once Knabe has a DUH! moment.
“Why not nominate the guy in front of me whom I trust so much?” Knabe reportedly asked himself.
And so he did. Knabe asked McDonnell if he’d be willing, the Chief said he’d be honored, and that was that.
I know from my own conversations with Jim McDonnell over the years that he’s someone with zero patience for cops/deputies or anybody else who is sworn to uphold the law, who instead uses his or her badge to abuse others.
Good choice, Supervisor Knabe.