In selecting Jim McDonnell as the next Los Angeles police chief, Mayor Karen Bass zeroed in on crime prevention and underplayed her career-long critique of policing culture. McDonnell, who served almost three decades with the LAPD, is a cautious choice, likely to play well with the department establishment and L.A.
residents who are weary of property crime and a general sense of social disorder. In announcing the appointment at a City Hall news conference Friday, Bass noted that as a physician’s assistant in emergency medicine in the 1980s, she saw up close the consequences of violent crime and was now focused on prevention and police response. McDonnell said the city and policing have “been through a rough period of time and we’re looking to move past that.
” Bass chose McDonnell over two other finalists: Robert Arcos, a career LAPD officer who currently serves as chief of investigations under Dist. Atty. George Gascón, and Emada Tingirides, a deputy chief best known for her innovative program to remake the relationship between the LAPD and communities with a deep distrust of police.
The choice means that Los Angeles will still not have a Latino or a female police chief in the immediate future. McDonnell is white. Bass’ predecessor, Eric Garcetti, also chose a white man, Michel Moore, for chief over Arcos and Bill Scott, a Black deputy chief.
There can be little doubt about McDonnell’s law enforcement credentials. He achieved the rank of LAPD first assistant chi.