At the senior staff meeting, McDonnell joked about not wanting to talk about Choi \u2014 who was not present in the room \u2014 behind his back, and told the captain that Choi was simply his \u201ceyes and ears,\u201d without offering more clarity, according to the sources. <\/p>\n
The awkward exchange reflected the uncertainty that some LAPD officials feel about McDonnell\u2019s leadership style.<\/p>\n
Over the last year, The Times spoke with numerous sources, from high-ranking commanders to beat cops on the street, along with recently retired LAPD officials and longtime department observers, to gather insights on McDonnell\u2019s first 12 months as the city\u2019s top cop.<\/p>\n
By some measures, McDonnell has been a success. Violent crime citywide has continued to decline. Despite the LAPD\u2019s hiring struggles<\/a>, officials say that applications by new recruits have been increasing. And support for the chief remains strong in some political circles, where backers lauded his ability to navigate so many challenges, most not of his own making \u2014 from the city\u2019s financial crisis and civil unrest to the devastating wildfires that hit just two months after he was sworn in.<\/p>\n At the same time, shootings by police officers have increased to their highest levels in nearly a decade and the LAPD\u2019s tactics at protests this summer drew both public outrage<\/a> and lawsuits. Some longtime observers worry the department is sliding back into a defiant<\/a> culture of past eras.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ve got a department that\u2019s going to bankrupt the city<\/a> but doesn\u2019t want to answer for what it is going to be doing,\u201d said Connie Rice, a civil rights attorney.<\/p>\n In an interview with The Times, McDonnell said he is proud of how his department has performed. He said his bigger plans for the LAPD are slowly coming together.<\/p>\n McDonnell rose through the LAPD\u2019s ranks early in his career, and acknowledged much has changed in the 14 years that he was away from the department. That\u2019s why he has leaned \u201cheavily\u201d on the expertise of Choi, who served as interim chief<\/a> before he took over, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s been a tremendous partner for me coming back,\u201d McDonnell said.<\/p>\n Dominic Choi, who served as interim LAPD chief before Jim McDonnell was hired, speaks at a 2024 news conference with federal law enforcement officials.<\/p>\n (Al Seib \/ For The Times)<\/p>\n McDonnell added that he has relied just as much on his other command staff, encouraging them to think and act for themselves \u201cto get the job done.\u201d<\/p>\n Retired LAPD commander Lillian Carranza is among those saying the new chief has failed to shake things up after Michel Moore stepped down abruptly<\/a> in January 2024. <\/p>\n Instead, she said, McDonnell has lacked the decisiveness required to make real changes in the face of resistance from the police union and others.<\/p>\n \u201cIt appears that the chief thought he was coming back to the LAPD from 15 years ago,\u201d she said of McDonnell. \u201cIt\u2019s been a disappointment because of the individuals that he\u2019s promoted \u2014 it just seems like Michel Moore 2.0 again.\u201d<\/p>\n There are notable contrasts in style and strategy between McDonnell and his predecessor. <\/p>\n Moore, who did not respond to a call seeking comment, often used his pulpit to try to get out ahead of potential crises. McDonnell has kept a lower profile. He has largely halted the regular press briefings that Moore once used to answer questions about critical incidents and occasionally opine on national issues.<\/p>\n Unlike Moore, who developed a reputation as a demanding manager who insisted on approving even minor decisions, McDonnell has seemingly embraced delegation. Still, his perceived deference to Choi, who also served as a top advisor to Moore, has led to questions about just how much has really changed. Choi has represented the department at nearly a fourth of all Police Commission meetings this year, a task usually performed by the chief.<\/p>\n Former LAPD Chief Michel Moore attends an event at the Police Academy on Dec. 7, 2023.<\/p>\n (Irfan Khan \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n It\u2019s telling of their closeness, LAPD insiders said, that Choi occupies the only other suite on the 10th floor of LAPD headquarters with direct access, via a balcony, to McDonnell\u2019s own office. <\/p>\n Choi did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n Mayor Karen Bass chose McDonnell as chief after a lengthy nationwide search, picking him over candidates who would have been the first Black woman or first Latino to lead the department. He offered experience, having also served as police chief in Long Beach and as L.A. County sheriff. <\/p>\n McDonnell has mostly avoided the type of headline-grabbing scandals<\/a> that plagued the department under Moore. Meanwhile, homicides citywide were on pace to reach a 60-year low<\/a> \u2014 a fact that the mayor has repeatedly touted as her reelection campaign kicks into gear. <\/p>\n In a brief statement, the mayor commended McDonnell and said she looked forward to working with him to make the city safer \u201cwhile addressing concerns about police interaction with the public and press.\u201d<\/p>\n Jim McDonnell shakes hands with Mayor Karen Bass after being introduced as LAPD chief during a news conference at City Hall on Oct. 4, 2024.<\/p>\n (Ringo Chiu \/ For The Times)<\/p>\n McDonnell has taken steps to streamline the LAPD\u2019s operations, including folding the department\u2019s four homicide bureaus into the Robbery-Homicide Division and updating the department\u2019s patrol plan to account for the department being down fewer officers.<\/p>\n John Lee, who chairs the City Council\u2019s public safety committee, said the chief is the kind of experienced and steady leader the city needs as it gets ready to host the World Cup and Olympics. McDonnell, he said, deserves credit for guiding the LAPD through \u201cunprecedented situations,\u201d while largely delivering on promises to reduce crime and lift officer morale. <\/p>\n But among the rank and file, there is continued frustration with the department\u2019s disciplinary system. The process, which critics outside the LAPD say rarely holds officers accountable, is seen internally as having a double standard that leads to harsh punishments for regular cops and slaps on the wrist for higher-ranking officials. Efforts at reform have repeatedly stalled<\/a> in recent years.<\/p>\n McDonnell told The Times that officers have for years felt that the system was stacked against them. One of his priorities is \u201cmaking the disciplinary system more fair in the eyes of those involved in it,\u201d he said, and speeding up internal affairs investigations that can drag on for a year or more without \u201cjeopardizing accountability or transparency.\u201d<\/p>\n He said he\u2019d like to give supervisors greater authority to quickly weed out complaints that \u201care demonstrably false on their face\u201d based on body camera footage and other evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n But the lack of progress on the issue has started to rankle the Los Angeles Police Protective League, the union for officers below the rank of lieutenant. The League urged McDonnell to take action in a statement to The Times.<\/p>\n \u201cThe way we see it, the Chief is either going to leverage his mandate and implement change, much to the chagrin of some in his command staff that staunchly support the status quo, or he will circle the wagons around the current system and continue to run out the clock,\u201d the statement read. \u201dThere\u2019s no need to keep booking conference rooms to meet and talk about \u2018fixing discipline,\u2019 it\u2019s time to fish or cut bait.\u201d<\/p>\n Perhaps more than anything, the ongoing federal immigration crackdown has shaped McDonnell\u2019s first year as chief. <\/p>\n Although McDonnell is limited in what he can do in the face of raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal agencies, some of the chief\u2019s detractors say he is missing a moment to improve relations between police and citizens of a majority-Latino city.<\/p>\n The son of Irish immigrants from Boston, McDonnell drew criticism during President Trump\u2019s first term when, as L.A. County sheriff, he allowed ICE agents access to the nation\u2019s largest jail<\/a>. As LAPD chief, McDonnell has often voiced his support for long-standing policies that restrict cooperation on civil immigration enforcement and limit what officers can ask members of the public about their status in the country.<\/p>\n \u201cI get hate mail from two extremes: those that are saying we\u2019re not doing enough to work with ICE and those that are saying we\u2019re working with ICE too much,\u201d McDonnell said.<\/p>\n U.S. Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino marches with federal agents to the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building on Aug. 14.<\/p>\n (Carlin Stiehl \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton, who runs the department\u2019s detective bureau, said McDonnell has to tread lightly politically and can\u2019t follow the suggestion of some people that \u201cwe should use our law enforcement agencies to fight back against the feds.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe can\u2019t come out and say, \u2018We oppose ICE, get out of our city,\u2019 like some of these other clowns are doing,\u201d Hamilton said. \u201cI mean, what, are you just trying to bring the wrath?\u201d<\/p>\n But the LAPD\u2019s response to the protests against Trump\u2019s agenda has repeatedly led to bad optics. Officers have stepped in to keep the peace when angry crowds form at the scene of ICE arrests, which some said created the appearance of defending the federal actions. <\/p>\n During large demonstrations \u2014 which have occasionally turned unruly, with bricks and Molotov cocktails hurled by some in the crowds \u2014 LAPD officers on foot or horseback have not held back in swinging batons, firing less-lethal munitions and even launching tear gas, a measure that hadn\u2019t been deployed on the streets of L.A. in decades. <\/p>\n Press rights organizations and a growing list of people who say they were injured by police have filed lawsuits, potentially adding to the tens of millions in the legal bills the department already faces for protest-related litigation<\/a> from years that predated McDonnell.<\/p>\n Attorney Susan Seager, who is suing the department over its recent protest tactics, said that McDonnell has seemed unwilling to second-guess officers, even when confronted with clear video evidence of them violating court-imposed restrictions.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve never seen LAPD so unhinged at a protest shooting people,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n An LAPD officer pushes back an anti-ICE protester during a rally on \u201cNo Kings Day\u201d in downtown Los Angeles on June 14.<\/p>\n (Carlin Stiehl \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
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