After Los Angeles police officers shot at people on three consecutive days late last month, the LAPD\u2019s civilian bosses turned to Chief Jim McDonnell for an explanation.<\/p>\n
The Police Commission wanted to know: What more could the department be doing to keep officers from opening fire?<\/p>\n
But in his response at the panel\u2019s meeting last week, McDonnell seemed to bristle at the notion his officers were too trigger-happy.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think what we\u2019re seeing is an uptick in the willingness of criminals within the community to assault officers head-on,\u201d he said at the Aug. 26 meeting. \u201cAnd then officers respond with what they have to do in order to control it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The commission has heaped praise on McDonnell for his performance since taking over the department in November. But the exchange over the recent cluster of police shootings \u2014 part of an overall increase<\/a> that has seen officers open fire in 31 incidents this year, up from 20 at the same point in 2024 \u2014 marked a rare point of contention.<\/p>\n Commission Vice President Rasha Gerges Shields told the chief that she and her colleagues remained \u201ctroubled by the dealings of people both with edged weapons \u2014 knives, other things like that \u2014 and also those who are in the midst of a mental health crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n During a radio appearance earlier this year, the chief brushed aside questions about shootings, saying officers are often put into dangerous situations where they have no choice but to open fire in order to protect themselves or the public.<\/p>\n \u201cThat is something that\u2019s part of the job unfortunately,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s largely out of the control of the officer and the department as far as exposure to those types of threats.\u201d<\/p>\n Such remarks have left some longtime observers worried that the department is backsliding to the days when department leaders tolerated pervasive and excessive use of force. McDonnell\u2019s defense of aggressive tactics<\/a> during this summer\u2019s pro-immigration protests, critics argue, sends a dangerous message to the rank-and-file. <\/p>\n The LAPD sits at a \u201cpivotal\u201d crossroads, according to Jorja Leap, a professor at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs.<\/p>\n The federal consent decree that followed the Rampart gang scandal of the late 1990s pushed the LAPD into becoming a more transparent and accountable agency, whose leaders accepted community buy-in as essential to their mission, said Leap. <\/p>\n Out of the reforms that followed came its signature outreach program, the Community Safety Partnership, which eschews arrests in favor of bringing officers together with residents to solve problems at some of the city\u2019s most troubled housing projects. <\/p>\n Leap said support for the program has in recent years started to wane, despite research showing the approach has helped drive down crime. \u201cThe LAPD has now evolved into an inward-facing organization,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n McDonnell was not available for an interview this week, an LAPD spokeswoman said.<\/p>\n Others faulted the chief for his response to the Trump administration\u2019s immigration raids in Southern California, taking issue with the local police presence at federal operations and the aggressive actions of LAPD officers toward protesters and journalists during demonstrations in June.<\/p>\n Fernando Guerra, a political science professor at Loyola Marymount University, said McDonnell seems unwilling to acknowledge how the sight of riot-gear-clad officers holding off protesters created the impression that police were \u201cprotecting the feds and the buildings more than the residents of L.A. who pay for LAPD.\u201d<\/p>\n McDonnell has repeatedly defended his department\u2019s response, telling reporters earlier this year that officers were forced to step in to quell \u201cdirect response to immediate, credible threats.\u201d <\/p>\n He also issued an internal memo voicing his support<\/a> to officers in the Latino-majority department and acknowledging the mixed feelings that some may have about the immigration raids.<\/p>\n After his public swearing-in in November, McDonnell acknowledged how much had changed with the department since he left in 2010, while saying that \u201cmy perspective is much broader and wider, realizing that we are not going to be successful unless we work very closely with the community.\u201d<\/p>\n At the time, his appointment was viewed with surprise in local political circles, where some questioned why a progressive mayor with a community organizing background like Karen Bass would hitch her fortunes to a law-and-order chief. Others argued that McDonnell was an appealing choice: A respected LAPD veteran who also served as the chief in Long Beach and later as Los Angeles County sheriff. <\/p>\n