Former LA County Sheriff and Long Beach Police Chief Jim McDonnell has been selected as the new chief of the Los Angeles Police Department.
McDonnell, an assistant chief at LAPD prior to serving as sheriff, becomes the department's 59th chief of police after a search that began months ago following the retirement of Chief Michel Moore in February. His selection was announced at a Friday morning news conference with Mayor Karen Bass at Los Angeles City Hall.
"I began the LAPD Academy 43 years ago. I love this city, and I understand the modern-day challenges our officers face in working to protect it," McDonnell said in a statement Friday. "It is a tremendous honor to lead the men and women of the LAPD. I will work hard to make sure their work to keep Angelenos safe is supported. Mayor Bass' efforts on public safety reflect thoughtful, compassionate and solution-oriented approaches to policing.
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"I greatly appreciated her confidence in me and I look forward to working closely with her to make Los Angeles a safer city."
Leader. Innovator. Change maker.
— Mayor Karen Bass (@MayorOfLA) October 4, 2024
This morning, I announced my selection of Jim McDonnell to serve as the next Chief of the LAPD.
We will strengthen and grow the Department.
We will build on relationships with communities.
We will ensure L.A. is vigilant and prepared for… pic.twitter.com/SCfJHHkWvX
McDonnell was elected sheriff in November 2014, then defeated in a run for re-election by Alex Villanueva in 2018. He also served for five years as chief of the Long Beach Police Department.
Born in Massachusetts, McDonnell's law enforcement career began in 1981 as a 22-year-old Los Angeles Police Academy graduate. He served 29 years with the LAPD, holding every rank from officer to second-in-command.
McDonnell holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from St. Anselm College in New Hampshire and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the University of Southern California. He also is a graduate of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s National Executive Institute and completed executive education programs at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.
Sources earlier told the NBC4 I-Team that finalists for the position included McDonnell, Deputy Chief Emada Tingirides, and former Assistant Chief Robert "Bobby" Arcos, who left the LAPD in 2021 and has been working as the head of investigations for LA County District Attorney George Gascón.
McDonnell was described by several sources as the, 'leading candidate."
“We've been through a very rough period of time, and we're looking to move past that," Chief McDonnell said Friday. "The way to move past that is to re-engage with the community in a different way, maybe, than we have traditionally. One that we talk about, partnership, collaboration, transparency, inclusion, one that we can work together with our communities to make them safer."
Dominic Choi served as interim chief of the Los Angeles Police Department following Moore's departure.
The mayor had promised to make the selection by the end of September. Her office declined to share the names of the final three candidates and released little information about the evaluation process or the timing of an announcement.
"From the beginning, I have been clear," Bass said in a statement issued Friday morning. "My top priority as mayor is to ensure that Angelenos and our neighborhoods are safer today than yesterday. Chief McDonnell is a leader, an innovator and a change maker, and I am looking forward to working with him to grow and strengthen LAPD, deepen relationships with communities across the city, and make sure that Los Angeles is vigilant and prepared for anything that comes our way."
Applicants for the job who were not selected as one of the three finalists were notified more than a week ago.
The City hired an executive recruiting firm to search for candidates months ago -- after former Chief Moore accelerated his plans to retire and left the department in February.
Dozens of applicants were evaluated by the firm, then the Board of Police Commissioners selected the three it believed were most qualified for the job and forwarded those names to the Mayor's office.
NBCLA's Jonathan Lloyd contributed to this report.
