The Los Angeles City Council approved the selection of Jim McDonnell as the city’s next police chief, despite protests from immigrant rights activists concerned about whether the department would cooperate with federal immigration authorities.

Responding to those concerns Friday, McDonnell said he would not cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE.

“I want to make it clear to all the people of Los Angeles, especially our immigrant community, who feel uncertainty and fear: this is a city of immigrants and my job is to serve them,” he said during the meeting.

The council confirmed McDonnell’s appointment in a vote of 11 to 2. McDonnell was sworn in at a later private ceremony.

Some community activists have said they oppose McDonnell’s hiring, citing concerns about his record when he served as sheriff of Los Angeles County. During that time, they said, he failed to improve conditions inside Men’s Central Jail, failed to rid the department of gangs and turned over imprisoned unauthorized immigrants to federal agents.

“We strongly oppose McDonnell’s appointment due to his prior history of colluding with ICE,” Bruno Huizar of the California Immigrant Policy Center told the City Council on Friday.

Referencing the re-election this week of President Donald Trump, who promised mass deportations if he returned to office, Huizar said: “Trumpism has no place in Los Angeles.”

McDonnell noted that there had been a lot of talk since Tuesday’s election about what would happen next.

“What I can say here is that if you’re talking about mass raids or the Police Department being involved in that, we don’t do that type of thing,” he said.

Selection of the new boss

Nearly 100 people spoke during the council meeting, which lasted several hours. The vast majority spoke out against McDonnell’s appointment.

“From Sheriff McDonnell’s history working with ICE, it’s clear that he lacks the moral clarity to build that trust” with the community, said LA Voice’s Maritza Cuestas.

Victor Dominguez, president and CEO of YMCA’s of Metro Los Angeles, praised McDonnell as the right person for the job: “It’s important that we have a leader who truly understands the diverse communities that make up Los Angeles, and Jim is that true. leader.”

Only councilors Eunisses Hernández and Hugo Soto-Martínez voted in favor of McDonnell’s appointment. Both expressed concern about their past cooperation with ICE.

Other council members praised McDonnell’s extensive experience in law enforcement and said he was the right person to lead the LAPD. He will face deep problems in the department, including a recruiting crisis that has seen the number of officers fall to 8,800, down from 10,000 five years ago.

Still, it is the second largest police department in the country.

The news that McDonnell had been chosen to lead the department. was announced beginning of last month. He has a long history with the city and county, having served with the Los Angeles Police Department for 29 years and then as chief of the Long Beach Police Department before being elected sheriff. He most recently served as director of the Safe Communities Institute at the Price School of the University of Southern California.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said at a press conference on Oct. 4 that she believed McDonnell was a “leader, innovator and change-maker.”

“I am appointing Chief McDonnell because he and I have been aligned in our desire to change the direction of Los Angeles by preventing crime in the first place, responding urgently when crime occurs, and holding people accountable and reducing crime,” Bass said. .

As the new chief, McDonnell will be tasked with making sure the department is ready to the world cup 2026 and the 2028 Summer Olympics.

The new chief will earn $450,000 a year, a salary approved by both the Police Commission and the City Council. The amount was reduced from $507,509 after criticism that the figure was too high.

The goals of the new boss

Laying out his goals, McDonnell said last month that he wanted to expand the department while working to build trust in the community.

“In simpler terms, my goals are to improve public safety, return our department to full strength through a robust recruiting and retention campaign, (and) strengthen public trust, the foundation of everything we do “, said.

McDonnell was elected sheriff of Los Angeles County in 2014. a time when the department was plagued by accusations of officers beating and humiliating people detained in the county jail, convictions of several officers for obstructing an FBI investigation into the prison system, and low morale among the department’s rank and file.

He served one term as sheriff, during which he was credited with establishing accountability systems and working to restore public trust, according to the mayor.

But when he ran for re-election in 2018, Alex Villanueva surprisingly won. McDonnell was ousted from office with the help of great expense by the union representing MPs, who did not like his disciplinary methods.

As LAPD chief, McDonnell said he wants to “ensure respectful and constitutional policing practices” and work with the community to address concerns. He also promised to address concerns about discipline and low morale.

“What we hope for is balance,” he said Friday. “The bar for accountability is very high.”

LAist journalist Yusra Farzan contributed to this story.

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