Former LA County Sheriff Jim McDonnell Named New LAPD Chief

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass announced on Friday that she chose former Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell as the next Los Angeles Police Department Chief, replacing interim Chief Dominic Choi.

McDonnell, a Massachusetts native, began his career with the LAPD in 1981 following graduation from both Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire and from the LAPD Academy. For the next 29 years, he had many assignments within the LAPD, including homicide, gangs, organized crime, vice, and patrol operations. During this time, he also graduated USC with a Master’s degree and rose all the way from police officer to Deputy Chief. After failing to get the LAPD Chief job in 2010, McDonnell instead accepted the Chief job at the Long Beach Police Department (LBPD), serving as their Chief between 2010 and 2014. Here, he made a name for himself when the LBPD saw a drastic decrease in crime despite losing 20% of their sworn officers.

McDonnell next ran for LA County Sheriff in 2014 and won. While he turned around the Sheriff’s Department following many scandals, he subsequently lost the 2018 election to Alex Villanueva. For the last 6 years, McDonnell has stayed within the law enforcement community, serving on many peace officer boards including the Peace Officer’s Association of Los Angeles.

This all led to January of this year, when LAPD Chief Michel Moore announced he would be retiring at the end of February and move to Tennessee to be closer to his family. Needing an interim Chief, the Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners chose Dominic Choi to be interim Chief. While Choi oversaw many tumultuous events in Los Angeles, including large Gaza protests and eventual encampment removals at UCLA and USC, crime still proved to be a struggle for Choi.

With crime still a top issue for residents, and the city needing a Police Chief to oversee many major events happening in LA in the next few years, such as the 2028 Olympics, Mayor Bass finally announced on Friday that she would be choosing McDonnell for the job.

“From the beginning, I have been clear: My top priority as mayor is to ensure that Angelenos and our neighborhoods are safer today than yesterday,” said Mayor Bass on Friday. “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.”

McDonnell accepted, becoming the 59th police chief in L.A.’s history.

A New Chief

“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,” added Chief McDonnell. “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’s efforts on public safety reflect thoughtful, compassionate, and solution-oriented approaches to policing. I greatly appreciate her confidence in me and I look forward to working closely with her to make Los Angeles a safer city.

“In simplest terms, my goals are to enhance public safety, to grow our department back to full strength, to strengthen public trust, the foundation of all we do, to further develop community relationships and to be able to take that to new levels. To ensure respectful and constitutional policing practices in all that we do.”

While the Police Commission accepted McDonnell as well, the Los Angeles City Council will still need to confirm McDonnell. However, many have already indicated that they’ll vote for him, with many in L.A. already cautiously optimistic about McDonnell as the next Chief.

“McDonnell was honestly a good choice,” explained a former LAPD officer turned security supervisor who wished to remain anonymous to the Globe on Friday. “He’s an easy to work with guy who gets results. And he knows the city. Bass and the others didn’t do an outside hire per say. They chose someone who knows L.A. inside and out. And McDonnell was actually part of the LAPD the last time we had the Olympics. Plus longtime LAPD, headed the LA County Sheriff’s Department and has had Chief experience with Long Beach. And, on top of that, has been on a lot of Boards. They went with experience and a track record on crime and it shows.

“Choi seemed good at first, but ultimately proved to be sort of rocky. LA just needed someone who has been down this road before, and they got the guy they needed. All around solid guy who is respected by everyone. The LAPD also has some other experienced people who are about ready to become Chief too, so they all get to learn under one of the best for the next several years.”

McDonnell beat out two other LAPD veterans for the job: Deputy Chief Emada Tingrides and former Assistant Chief Robert “Bobby” Arcos.