LOS ANGELES – eight months later Michel Moore retired As chief of the Los Angeles Police Department, the City Council on Friday will consider approving former Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell as his successor to lead the nation’s third-largest police agency.

Mayor Karen Bass nominated McDonnell in October to be the LAPD’s 59th chief, following a nationwide search. He was among three finalists for the job, along with LAPD Deputy Chief Emada Tingirides and former Deputy Chief Robert Arcos, who has been working with District Attorney George Gascón’s office as chief of investigations.

Interim Police Chief Dominic Choi, who has led the LAPD since March, is expected to resign and become one of three deputy chiefs under the expected new chief.

McDonnell would take charge of a department that will deal with major security issues for years to come as the region hosts the Olympic Games, a Super Bowl and eight World Cup games.

On Oct. 29, the City Council’s Public Safety Committee voted 4-1 to advance McDonnell’s nomination. One committee member, Councilman Hugo Soto-Martínez, opposed his nomination, citing concerns some residents have expressed about McDonnell’s past policies on immigration.

Committee members grilled McDonnell on a variety of topics and issues, from recruiting issues, boosting morale, unarmed response initiatives and improving relations with city residents.

Other issues raised by council members included ongoing efforts to reform the department’s disciplinary process, the use of pretextual stops and how to limit liability claims stemming from officer misconduct, among other things.

McDonnell, who served as county sheriff from 2014 to 2018, allowed Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents into county jails. In 2017, he also opposed state Senate Bill 54, which established California as a sanctuary state, limiting law enforcement agencies’ cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE:

“I know my role as police chief very clearly,” McDonnell said. “I work for the police commission, for the mayor, with the city council and we work as partners in public safety.”

“It’s not something we’re going to go out and do something different or against what everyone else in the city is focused on as a policy,” he added. “Our role is operational to protect all our communities equally and do it to the best of our ability.”

Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez, committee chair, thanked McDonnell for his stated commitment to engaging with city stakeholders on public safety.

“When we meet with our detractors we gain greater wisdom and find a way to move forward,” Rodríguez said.

Members of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights also opposed McDonnell’s nomination and urged council members to make Los Angeles a sanctuary city, which would formally enshrine protections for its immigrant community.

Bass praised the committee’s vote.

“Chief McDonnell is committed to serving all Angelenos,” Bass said in a statement. “He is a leader, an innovator, and a change-maker, and I look forward to working with him to grow and strengthen the LAPD, deepen relationships with communities across the city, and ensure Los Angeles is vigilant and prepared for anything.” let it come our way.”

McDonnell served with the Los Angeles Police Department for 29 years and held various ranks until becoming first deputy chief of police before retiring in 2010 to lead the Long Beach Police Department, where he served for nearly five years.

McDonnell previously said his goals were to improve public safety in the city, “bring our department back to full strength” and “strengthen public trust, the foundation of everything we do,” and to develop community relationships, ensuring the at the same time “respectful and constitutional policing”. practices.”

McDonnell was originally fined an annual salary of $507,000, but earlier this week the Board of Police Commissioners, citing concerns with the city’s budget, reduced that figure to $450,000. That’s still more than Moore’s $436,000 salary, as well as that of Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna, who makes about $397,340. It also surpasses President Joe Biden’s $400,000 annual salary.

McDonnell’s salary would also surpass that of New York City Police Department commissioners, who earn about $243,000 a year, as well as Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling, at $260,472, and the from Houston Police Chief Noe Diaz with $315,000.

The executive director of the Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners had proposed the original salary of $507,000 for McDonnell, but this week board president Erroll Southers suggested the salary of $450,000, taking Choi’s salary into account. , as well as McDonnell’s experience and qualifications.

Southers noted that Choi received a salary increase from $392,774 to $436,746 when he assumed interim leadership, matching Moore’s salary. Moore, who retired in February, initially earned $350,000 and later received salary increases.