New LAPD chief sworn in, says he won’t cooperate with ICE

The Los Angeles City Council approved the selection of Jim McDonnell as the city’s next police chief, despite protests from immigrant rights activists concerned about whether the department would cooperate with federal immigration authorities.

In response to these concerns, McDonnell said Friday that he would not cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE.

“I want to be clear to all the people of Los Angeles, especially our immigrant community, who are feeling uncertainty and fear: This is a city of immigrants and my job is to serve you,” he said at the meeting.

The council confirmed McDonnell’s appointment by an 11-2 vote.

The news that McDonnell had been chosen to lead the Los Angeles Police Department was announced early last month. He has a long history in the city and county. He served 29 years in the LAPD, then as chief of the Long Beach Police Department and later was elected sheriff of LA County.

Most recently, he served as director of the Safe Communities Institute at the University of Southern California’s Price School.

LA Mayor Karen Bass said at an Oct. 4 news conference that she considers McDonnell a “leader, innovator and change maker.”

“I am appointing Chief McDonnell because he and I are aligned in our desire to change the direction of Los Angeles by preventing crime in the first place – responding urgently when crime occurs and holding people accountable and putting crime back on track.” to push,” Bass said. .

Some community activists were critical of Bass’s choice. A co-founder of Black Lives Matter Los Angeles said Bass had other, more progressive options in selecting the next chief.

“It is a betrayal of the progressive values ​​that Karen Bass claims to hold,” Melina Abdullah told LAist.

As the new chief, McDonnell will have to ensure that the department is ready the 2026 World Cup and the 2028 Summer Olympics.

The objectives of the new chief

LAPD is the second largest police department in the country, with nearly 9,000 officers.

In outlining his goals last month, McDonnell said he wanted to expand the department while working to build trust in the community.

“In the simplest terms, my goals are to increase public safety, return our department to full strength through a robust recruitment and retention campaign, (and) strengthen public trust, the foundation of everything we do,” he said.

He also said he wants to “ensure respectful and constitutional police practices” and work with the community to address the concerns.

McDonnell’s stint as sheriff

McDonnell was elected sheriff of LA County in 2014. a time when the department was plagued by allegations of officers beating and humiliating people in the county jail, convictions of several deputies for obstructing an FBI investigation into the prison system, and low morale among the department’s rank and file.

He served one term as sheriff, during which he was credited with establishing accountability systems and restoring public trust, the mayor said.

But when he ran for re-election in 2018, Alex Villanueva won in an upset. McDonnell was voted out of office with the help of big spending by the union representing deputies, which did not appreciate his disciplinary behavior.

LAist reporter Yusra Farzan contributed to this news story.