Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell has parted ways with the top lawyer who sparked police union rage for her role in the controversial release of thousands of mugshot-style photographs of police officers, serving as head of the department’s Constitutional Security Bureau.
Among his biggest changes to staff since taking over the department, McDonnell has driven out Lizabeth Rhodes, the highest-ranked private employee of LAPD. McDonnell notified through his subordinates that her services were no longer needed, according to sources from multiple departments who requested anonymity as they were not authorized to discuss changes to personnel.
“We are grateful for Mr. Rhodes’s long-standing dedication, especially for some of the department’s most difficult periods,” McDonnell said in a statement. “Her leadership and contributions played a key role in shaping the direction of the Los Angeles Police Department.”
Attempts to reach Rhodes with a telephone number issued by her city failed.
Rhodes is expected to remain in the department until June as he takes leave during his tenure, department sources said.
In her role, Rhodes oversaw the operations of various units, including the Risk Management Legal Group, the Audit Division, and the Strategic Planning Section. Her office was created under a U.S. Department of Justice consent ruling in the early 2000s, requiring reforms to address fundamental issues of accountability dating back decades.
Rhodes, a former federal prosecutor appointed in 2019 by then-director Michelle Moore, was a deeply polarized figure within the department. Among her supporters, she was seen as a nonsense and straight leader who helped pilot the department through ever-changing legal issues such as traffic stops, press access and news events.
However, the powerful Los Angeles Police Protection League has frequently targeted Rhodes with stinging criticism in monthly magazines, including policies that restrict “pre-text stoppages” for drivers and pedestrians.
The union representing Rank and File officers accused Rhodes and Moore of publishing thousands of photos of police officers in 2022 under the state’s public records laws.
Images and other information such as executive salaries and ranks have been reported by journalist Ben Camacho and an activist group to suspend the LAPD Spy Coalition and transform the material into a searchable online database called Watch the Watchers.
Users can use their name or badge number to look up the officer’s photos. This has called for a step towards greater police transparency by website creators. Union leaders accused Rhodes and Moore of releasing information that puts officers at risk, including some, including undercover agents.
After the Watch The Watchers site was released in March 2023, Moore said he was unaware of the release of the photos until it had already happened. He issued an apology and ordered an internal investigation. General LAPD Inspector’s office has launched another probe.
At the time, Mayor Karen Bass called the release a “unacceptable violation that puts the lives of our officers and their families at risk.”
More than 300 officers filed lawsuits against the city, claiming that their families were also in danger. The city in turn sued Camacho, stopping the spying for LAPD and trying to claw the photos.
Officers who signed the legal challenge to the city — numbered to hundreds and listed by John — argued that the release of LAPD employees would harm them and put the score.
However, in November, the city confirmed in a court application that the majority of the officers involved were not truly infiltrated. The lawsuit against Camacho and Stop LAPD Spy Coalition was dumped in court, and the city was ordered to pay $300,000 in legal fees. The lawsuit by officers against the city remains pending.
Since then, departmental lobbyists have called for changes to state law to prevent similar disclosures in the future.
The city has denied a request for public records up to the Times for communications sent and received by Rhodes and Moore about the release of the photo.
Before coming to LAPD, Rhodes worked with Irene Decker at his local US law firm.
Rhodes charged a prominent case of former LA County Sheriff Leevaka, who was convicted in 2017 for blocking informants out of reach of FBI handlers and obstructing a federal investigation into his role as a part of staying away from the big ju apprentice.
Her job at LAPD was to ensure that officers were obeying the law, but activists lamented what they saw as not wanting to push for transformative change.
Meanwhile, the police union accused Rhodes and other department leaders of taking office in progressive interests and making it difficult for police officers to do their jobs.
In recent weeks, signs have begun to appear that Rhodes appears to have lost his favor to McDonnell.
She is rarely seen around police headquarters, and in a recent presentation she replaced her predecessor in front of the police commission as constitutional police chief Arif Alikan.
Alican was brought to the department last year to address “risk management and harm reduction strategies, departmental programs and other important issues.” He was paid $240,000 over six months thanks to a donation from the Police Foundation.
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