McDonnell confirmed as new LAPD chief, 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.

Responding to those concerns Friday, McDonnell said he would not cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE.

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

The council confirmed McDonnell's appointment in an 11- 2 vote. McDonnell was sworn in at a private ceremony afterward.

Some community activists have said they opposed the hiring of McDonnell, citing concerns over his record when he served as L.A. County sheriff. During that time, they said, he failed to improve conditions inside Men’s Central Jail, failed to rid the department of deputy gangs, and handed over unauthorized immigrants in jail to federal agents.

“We strongly oppose McDonnell’s appointment due to his prior history of colluding with ICE," Bruno Huizar of the California Immigrant Policy Center, said Friday to the City Council.

Referencing the re-election this week of President Donald Trump, who promised mass deportations if he returned to office, Huizar said: "Trumpism has no place in Los Angeles.”

McDonnell noted there had been a lot of talk since Tuesday's election about what would happen afterward.

“What I can say here is any talk of mass roundups or the Police Department being involved in that thing, we don’t do that kind of thing,” he said.

Selection of the new chief

Nearly 100 people spoke during the council meeting, which lasted several hours. The vast majority spoke against McDonnell's appointment.

“From Sheriff McDonnell’s record working with ICE, it is clear he lacks the moral clarity to build that trust" with the community, said Maritza Cuestas of LA Voice.

Victor Dominguez, president and CEO of YMCA's of Metro Los Angeles, praised McDonnell as the right person for the job: “It's important that we have a leader that truly understands the diverse communities that Los Angeles is made up of, and Jim is that true leader."

Only council members Eunisses Hernandez and Hugo Soto-Martinez voted to oppose McDonnell's appointment. Both expressed concern about his previous cooperation with ICE.

Other council members hailed McDonnell's vast experience in law enforcement and said he was the right person to lead the LAPD. He'll face deep problems at the department, including a recruitment crisis that has caused the number of officers to fall to 8,800 — down from 10,000 five years ago.

Still, it is the nation's second largest police department.

The news that McDonnell had been picked to lead the department was announced early last month. He has a long history in the city and county, having served with the LAPD for 29 years, then as chief of the Long Beach Police Department, before he was elected sheriff. He most recently served as the director of the University of Southern California's Price School’s Safe Communities Institute.

L.A. Mayor Karen Bass said at a Oct. 4 news conference that she believed McDonnell to be a "leader, innovator and change maker."

"I'm appointing Chief McDonnell because he and I have aligned in our desire to change the direction of Los Angeles by preventing crime in the first place — responding urgently when crime takes place and to hold people accountable and bring down crime," Bass said.

As the new chief, McDonnell will be tasked with making sure the department is ready for the 2026 World Cup and the 2028 Summer Olympics.

The new chief will make $450,000 a year, a salary approved by both the Police Commission and the City Council. The amount was lowered from $507,509 after criticism the number was too high.

The new chief's goals

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

"In simplest terms, my goals are to enhance public safety, to grow our department back to full strength through a solid recruitment and retention campaign, [and] to strengthen public trust, the foundation of all we do," he said.

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

He served one term as sheriff, during which he was credited with setting up accountability systems and working to restore public trust, according to the mayor.

But when he ran for reelection in 2018, Alex Villanueva won in an upset. McDonnell was voted out of office with the help of big spending by the labor union that represents deputies, who did not like his disciplinarian ways.

As LAPD chief, McDonnell said he wants to "ensure respectful and constitutional policing practices" and work with the community to address concerns. He also promised to address concerns about discipline and low morale.

"What we hope for is balance," he said Friday. "The bar for accountability is very high."

LAist reporter Yusra Farzan contributed to this news story.