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When Jim McDonnell took over as Los Angeles Police Chief late last year, he promised to take the department’s inventory within 90 days and began overhauling what needed to be revised.
Almost six months later, it appears to have little change, and there are times when McDonnell shakes things up, or even so, there are growing questions.
Complicating the situation for the chief is the possibility of losing more than 400 civilian workers to layoffs as city leaders rush to fill the $1 billion budget gap.
McDonnell addressed delays in reorganization plans on Wednesday in a City Council Committee committee, saying his original three-month timetable was retreated by a wildfire in January.
Now, the Chief said the challenges ahead are clear.
“We have the opportunity to move forward to reassessing based on what the budget looks like,” he said.
Council members are trying to find ways to save on chopping block positions, including cutting overtime funds and even the possibility of slowing down new police recruits’ employment.
Some have expressed concern that patrol personnel will be taken out of the field to fill specific desk jobs. Approximately 130 positions, including crime scene photographers and analysts handling fingerprint and ballistic evidence, will not be easily exchanged, McDonnell warned.
“We know that officers won’t turn the wrench, someone needs to fix it,” said Councilman Tim Makosker.
Another council member, Eunisses Hernandez, requested details from the department as to whether millions spent on the helicopter fleet, taking into account the city’s financial straits.
Among other changes, McDonnell said he has considered updating the department’s so-called “basic car” plan, splitting the city into small geographical areas patrolled by senior chiefs responsible for building relationships with community representatives. The city has grown since the program was last investigated, he said.
McDonnell reiterated his promise on Wednesday to announce a reorganization of the department after the research by Rand Corp. was completed. McDonnell told council members that the department had received some preliminary recommendations from the investigation. The final version was expected in the coming weeks.
The Chief also convened numerous working groups. He said, “We will reassess the way we have been in business and what we aim to move forward.”
Given the “very difficult financial era,” he said it was “very suspicious” to plan a future of “substantially increasing” in the size of the sector.
Longtime civil rights lawyer Connie Rice sued LAPD and advised past chiefs on reforms, McDonnell said he didn’t have to wait for the expensive consultant to tell him what’s wrong with the department.
Among the challenges, she said, are long-standing issues with the department’s “hollow” community policing program and racism. She said she has little to say about how McDonnell intends to deal with allegations about a group of secretly recorded recruiters making dimoral comments about Black police applicants, women and LGBTQ+ colleagues.
“LAPD is in a world of trouble, and xenophobic comments are just the beginning,” Rice said.
Mario Munoz, a retired interior lieutenant colonel at LAPD Department of Home Affairs, which currently runs a company defending whistleblowers, said he has heard concerns within the department about McDonnell’s inaction.
“I’m not thinking about it [police officials] I don’t make his expectations clear, so I know what he’s looking for,” Munoz said.
As crime numbers continue to lean downward, McDonnell receives public support from the Los Angeles Police Protection Federation, a union representing Mayor Karen Bass and Rank File officers.
However, the faction of commanders representing all officials beyond the ranks of the Middle EU pushed the union to call for no confidence in McDonnell.
Several McDonnell supporters point to the Chief taking a similarly deliberative approach in his last two leadership stints, as Long Beach police chief and Los Angeles County Sheriff. Given the challenge of taking over a department as big and complicated as LAPD, they say it makes sense that McDonnell should take his time.
In a letter to Councillor Katie Jaroslavsky ahead of Wednesday’s presentation to the Budget Committee, McDonnell opposed the removal of hundreds of jobs and said cuts in staff could lead to the closure of three city prisons.
“Tasks previously performed by private experts may require staffing by oathletes, which could potentially affect the number of officers we can deploy to protect and serve our community,” the chief’s letter states.
Amplifying uncertainty, McDonnell has yet to meet some captains and some commander vacancy and has not raised candidates from Li’s promotional list.
However, he made several personnel changes, including moving deputy chief Emmada Tingilid from the South Bureau’s longtime hometown to the Central Bureau. She was replaced by Deputy Chief Ruby Flores. He also expelled the civil chief of the Constitutional Policy Bureau, a department depicting the rage of police unions.
Former Chief Bernard Parks, who later served on the city council, said McDonnell is in a tough spot amidst budget crunch and competing pressures from within and outside the department.
Parks said he had planned a reorganization plan within weeks of being appointed chief in 1997, but he did not blame McDonnell for his careful gradation.
“The key is, if you have a plan, you need to do your best as a whole, as you can. We’re trying to get to Point A, Point Z,” Parks said. “Stop and start are the worst things that an organization can do because people lose interest right away.”
Others preach patience in the same way for McDonnell.
Rep. John Lee, who chairs the council’s Public Safety Commission, said in an interview last month that the chief personally shared the department’s plans, focusing on improving recruitment and executive retention.
Lee said it was “very natural” for some senior officials to worry about their fate under the new chief.
“There are many different concerns from everyone. It could be a captain who could change the commute or someone who has really established a good relationship with the community,” Lee said.
McDonnell may not move as fast as some people would like, Lee added, but “we have to trust him a little.”
Times staff writer David Zanizer contributed to this report.
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