New LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell to be ceremonially sworn in Thursday
The new chief of the Los Angeles Police Department will be sworn in during a Thursday morning ceremony attended by city and community dignitaries.
Jim McDonnell received confirmation to fill the department's top seat by the Los Angeles City Council on Nov. 8, after Mayor Karen Bass had appointed him to be the 59th LAPD chief in October. The selection came eight months after former Chief of Police Michel Moore retired.
Interim Police Chief Dominic Choi has been leading the department since March and is expected to step down and become one of three assistant chiefs under the new head.
McDonnell is the first person to serve in senior executive leadership positions in three of the largest policing agencies in Los Angeles County: the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, the Los Angeles Police Department, and the Long Beach Police Department.
He served with the LAPD for 29 years, holding several ranks before becoming assistant chief of police. He retired from the department to serve as chief of the Long Beach Police Department from 2010 to 2014, then moved on to be elected as Los Angeles County Sheriff from 2014 to 2018,
According to the LAPD, his success early in his tenure with the department included playing an integral role in developing community policing strategies, that would transform the LAPD.
At a press conference after he was sworn in as chief on Friday, McDonnell addressed concerns surrounding President-elect Donald Trump's campaign promise of mass deportations: "We don't do immigration enforcement."
"Any talk of mass roundups or the police department being involved in that thing — we don't do that kind of thing," he said. "We would alienate much of our population, much of our community with anything like that. It would make no sense for us to do that."
McDonnell said the department will focus on providing services to LA.
"We're here to keep everybody safe — in all communities throughout our city," he said. "The way we do that is by nurturing trust, building on the relationships we have, and making them better. We're trying to ensure that people understand the LAPD there is no additional risk as far as your immigration status."
McDonnell has served as vice president of the Major County Sheriffs of America; president of the California Peace Officers' Association; president of the Los Angeles County Police Chiefs' Association; a board member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police; a board member of the Peace Officers' Association of Los Angeles County; a member of the Major Cities Chiefs Association; and as a member of the California Commission on Peace Officers' Standards & Training.
After earning a Bachelor of Science degree in criminal justice from St. Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire, McDonnell obtained a Master's degree in Public Administration from the University of Southern California. He is also a graduate of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's National Executive Institute and has completed executive education programs at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government.
The swearing-in ceremony takes place at 8 a.m., Thursday, Nov. 14, at the LAPD Academy in Elysian Park.