New LAPD chief faces big challenges, including trouble recruiting new officers

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The Los Angeles Police Department is the third largest in the country.

If confirmed by the city council, which is expected, former L.A. County Sheriff Jim McDonnell will take over a department that Mayor Karen Bass has said is suffering from low morale, concerns that the disciplinary system has created a double standard, and low staffing not helped by recruiting issues.

"It's officers doing more with less," said Jerretta Sandoz, the vice president of the Los Angeles Police Protective League, the union that represents LAPD officers. "It's our decreasing ranks. We were at 10,000 strong, now we're a little over 8,800, so our officers are overworked. But also, officers feel like they're not treated fairly through this disciplinary system."

However, Councilwoman Nithya Raman believes one of the reasons why there continues to be distrust between LAPD and the diverse communities it serves isn't because there isn't enough officers, but that the force is still not sending the right people to the right calls.

"We knew that staffing was a problem and will continue to be a problem, and I think we haven't, as a city, taken realistic steps to fix that problem," she said. "For example, from my senior lead officers in the community, I often here that 40% to 60% of their time is spent responding to calls about homelessness. Why don't we have a citywide circle program?"

Raman believes that change to L.A.'s homeless strategy would take a load off the police department.

Meanwhile, Bass is working on speeding up recruitment and hiring, which the union supports and believes will help address crime. Over the last five years, violent crime in the city has gone up.

Another challenge facing McDonnell is keeping L.A. and its visitors safe during the 2026 World Cup and the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic games.

"L.A. will be on the world stage," said Sandoz. "I believe [Bass] chose that proven leader to ensure that we have the right resources to ensure the city is safe and that there's officers that will be able to protect the city during those times and beef up our department."

"This particular chief pick, I think, has run large departments before, so I think that management experience during those moments of extreme focus on the city will be extremely helpful," said Raman.

McDonnell has experience and knowledge on counterterrorism and international threats, which likely helped him get the job as Bass has made preparing the city to host the major events a top priority.

The appointment follows the retirement of Michel Moore earlier this year. Moore's tenure was marked by greater scrutiny into excessive force and police killings of civilians in the nation's second-largest city. Dominic Choi had been serving as the interim chief since then.

McDonnell was elected L.A. County Sheriff in 2014 to oversee the largest sheriff's department in the U.S. Before that, he spent 29 years in the LAPD and served as Long Beach's police chief for almost five years.

"I began the LAPD Academy 43 years ago... and I pause when I say that because I just can't wrap my head around that. That is a long time," McDonnell said Friday. "I love this city and I understand the modern-day challenges our officers face in trying to protect it."

At the LAPD, McDonnell held every rank from police officer to second-in-command under former LAPD chief Bill Bratton. During that time, he helped implement a federal consent decree imposed on the department largely as a result of the Rampart scandal, a corruption case involving rampant misconduct within the anti-gang unit.

When he was elected county sheriff, he inherited a department in the wake of a jail abuse corruption scandal that led to convictions against his predecessor, longtime Lee Baca, and more than 20 other officials.

The LAPD has faced criticism through the years over its response to the George Floyd protests and several high-profile shootings by officers. It has struggled to get rid of bad cops while also struggling to recruit as more officers leave its ranks than are coming in.

McDonnell touched on some of his priorities as the new leader of the department.

"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," the new LAPD chief said.

Following the press conference, McDonnell and Bass spoke to Angelenos at Pink's Hot Dogs, talking with them about the issues facing their city. The two also went to several police stations in the region. McDonnell said reaching out to the community is key.

"We are not going to be successful unless we work very closely with the community. Let's engage with the community to help us do our job but also respect the community. The foundation of everything we do is based in respect. You've got to give it to get it," McDonnell said.

In addition to strengthening public trust, McDonnell said the department needs more officers and that he wants to improve recruitment and retention.

"Trying to not only reduce crime but also supporting our officers in their endeavors to do that, working with our communities and hearing what the communities' priorities are, and then addressing those as well," he said.

While there was debate over whetherBass would choose an "insider" or "outsider" who would shake things up and challenge the way things were done within the department's insular culture, the mayor ended up with three candidates all with decades of experience at the LAPD.

The other two candidates sent to Bass, who made the final selection, were Deputy Chief Emada Tingirides and former Assistant Chief Robert "Bobby" Arcos, both reported by the Los Angeles Times as finalists for the position.

Both Tingirides and Arcos posted congratulatory messages for McDonnell on social media, as did former Chief Moore and Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna.

Bass, who had the final say after a civilian board of Los Angeles police commissioners vetted McDonnell, said her selection of a veteran law enforcement officer was based on a need to reduce crime and make every neighborhood safer. Bass met with hundreds of LAPD officers and community leaders before making her decision.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.