Former sheriff Jim McDonnell, a Catholic, picked to lead LAPD
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass announced Friday morning that she has chosen former LA County Sheriff Jim McDonnell, a Catholic, to lead the city’s police department.
Born in Massachusetts to immigrant parents from Ireland, McDonnell moved to Southern California after college and entered the LAPD as a junior officer in 1981 at the age of 21. Over the course of his 29-year career in the department, he rose to the rank of assistant chief of police before becoming chief of the Long Beach Police Department in 2010. In 2014, he was elected LA County Sheriff but four years later lost a re-election bid to Alex Villanueva.
Most recently, McDonnell, 69, served as director of USC’s Safe Communities Institute, which studies successful approaches to public safety. He will replace former Chief Michel Moore, who retired in February after more than 5 years on the job.