The Los Angeles Police Commission has postponed a planned Jan. 10 vote on whether to reappoint LAPD Chief Michel Moore to a second five-year term, according to the panel’s president.
The vote had been scheduled just two weeks after Moore announced his intention Tuesday to seek another term. Also on Tuesday, Commission President William Briggs issued his own statement essentially endorsing a second term, saying the LAPD would “greatly benefit from [Moore’s] continued stewardship.”
Briggs' remarks raised questions about whether the commission was rushing the decision without input from new Mayor Karen Bass or adequate public comment.
“After consultation with the mayor, we’re going to take public comment on the 10th, but we are not going to take a vote at that time,” Briggs told LAist in a brief interview Friday. He gave no further explanation for the delay and said no date for a vote has been scheduled.
“Right now, we are still working out those details,” Briggs said.
In his statement Tuesday, Moore had touted his accomplishments. “Over the course of the last four and a half years, we have accomplished significant reforms, enhanced training, and expanded transparency and accountability,” he said. “While much has been accomplished, there remains more work to be done.”
But Moore, 62, has faced criticism from police reform groups over the department’s alleged excessive use of force during the 2020 George Floyd demonstrations and an uptick in shootings by his officers of unarmed and mentally ill people in 2021.
Moore joined the LAPD in 1981. Former Mayor Eric Garcetti first appointed him chief in 2018.
With Moore's formal request for a second term, the commission has three months to decide whether to give him five more years in office.
All five current members were appointed by Garcetti.
