Overhaul in this economy? Questions surrounding the Chief's Plan

When Jim McDonnell took over as Los Angeles Police Chief in the second half of last year, he promised to take stock of the department within 90 days and start overhauls that need to be repaired.

Nearly six months later, it seems almost no change, and there are growing questions about when (or even – MacDonald) will shake everything.

Complicating the Chief’s situation is the possibility of losing more than 400 civilian workers to lay off as city leaders scramble to cut the $100 million budget gap.

McDonnell addressed delays in his restructuring plan during a city council committee hearing Wednesday, saying his initial three-month schedule was set by January’s wildfires.

The person in charge said that the challenges ahead are clear now and the future are clear.

“When we move forward with the senior leadership team, reevaluating based on the appearance of the budget, I have the opportunity to reevaluate and then be able to simplify our operations to support our core functions, which is starting and answering the services of the radio station,” he said.

Council members are trying to figure out how to save positions in chopping blocks, including reducing overtime funds and even potentially slowing down recruitment for new police recruits.

Some expressed concern that patrol personnel would be taken out to backfill certain desks to work. McDonald warned that about 130 positions – including crime scene photographers and analysts who handle fingerprints and ballistic evidence – are not easily replaced.

“We know the police won't twist the wrench, we need someone to fix it,” said Councilman Tim McOsker.

Another council member, Eunisses Hernandez, asked the department for more information, given whether the city's financial strait had reason to spend millions of dollars on its helicopter fleet.

McDonnell said he has considered updating what the department calls “basic car” program, which divides the city into small geographic areas patrolled by senior chiefs who are responsible for connecting with community representatives. He said the city has been growing since the last study of the program.

McDonnell repeated his pledge on Wednesday to announce a divisional readjustment after a study by Rand Corp., a global policy think tank brought last year to conduct a top-down review. McDonnell told council members that the department has received some preliminary recommendations from the study and a final version is expected in the coming weeks.

The Chief also called many working groups, and he said, “Reevaluating the way we do business, not what we might want to move forward.”

He said that in view of the “very difficult financial period”, planning for the future, with a “significant increase” scale is “very problematic”.

Connie Rice, a long-time civil rights lawyer who both sued LAPD and advised past reforms, said McDonnell didn’t have to wait for a high-priced consultant to tell him what the department had to do with the department.

She said that included the department’s “lost” community policing program and the long-standing problems of racism. She noted that McDonnell had little talk about how he intended to resolve allegations about a group of recruiters who secretly documented derogatory comments about black police applicants, women and LGBTQ+ colleagues.

“LAPD is in trouble and xenophobic comments are just the beginning,” Rice said.

Mario Munoz, a retired LAPD interior lieutenant who now runs a company representing whistleblowers, said he heard concerns within the department about McDonnell's inaction.

“I don't think[the police]know what he is looking for because he doesn't explicitly express his expectations,” Munoz said.

As the crime numbers continue to trend downward, McDonnell has received public support from Mayor Karen Bass and the Los Angeles Police Protection Coalition, which represents officials of ranking and officials.

But a faction of the Commanders Association represented all officials at the height of the lieutenant, who pushed the union vote of distrust in MacDonald, citing displeasure at his performance so far.

Some McDonnell supporters noted that the Chief adopted a similar approach to deliberation in his last two leadership tasks, just like the Long Beach and Los Angeles County Sheriffs. They say that given the challenge of taking over a department as big and complex as LAPD, it only makes sense for MacDonald to take time.

McDonnell, ahead of his introduction to the Budget Committee on Wednesday, objected not to cancel hundreds of jobs, and said reducing staff could result in three city prisons closures.

“The missions previously performed by civilian professionals may require staffing of oath-in-service personnel and may affect the number of officials available for protection and service,” the chief's letter said.

McDonnell expanded the uncertainty and had not filled several captains and several commander positions, and he did not promote any candidates from the lieutenant's promotional roster.

But he has changed some personnel, including moving Deputy Deputy Director Emada Tingirides to her long-term family base in the Southern Bureau to the Central Bureau. She was replaced by Deputy Chief Ruby Flores. He also removed the civilian head of the Ministry’s Constitutional Police Office, and he was trapped in the anger of the police coalition.

Former principal, Bernard Parks, who later served on the city council, said McDonnell was in a tough position in budget tightening and competitive pressures both inside and outside the department.

Parks said he had a restructuring plan within the weeks of his appointment as chief in 1997, but he did not accuse McDonald of careful stomping.

“The key is that if you have a plan, you should do your best in its overall situation: We’re at point A and we’re working to get to point Z,” Parks said. “Stop and start are the worst things you do with the organization because people lose interest very quickly.”

Others also preached patience for McDonald's.

Councilman John Lee, chairman of the Council’s Public Safety Committee, said in an interview last month that the department privately shared some of the department’s plans centered on improving recruitment and retaining staff.

Lee said some senior officials were worried that the fate of the new chief would be “very natural.”

“Everyone has a lot of different concerns – maybe it's a captain's commute that could change, or it could be someone who has really good relationships with the community,” Lee said.

Lee added that MacDonald may not be as fast as some people want, but “we have to have a little trust in him.”

Times worker David Zahniser contributed to the report.