Garcetti announces Michel Moore as new LAPD Chief

LOS ANGELES, CA (CNS/FOX 11) - Los Angeles Police Department Assistant Chief Michel Moore was chosen today by Mayor Eric Garcetti as the department's new chief, replacing the retiring Charlie Beck.

The City Council still must sign off on the selection of Moore, who has been with the department since 1981.

Garcetti was given three finalists to choose from by the Board of Police Commissioners, the civilian body that oversees the LAPD. They were Moore, San Francisco police Chief William "Bill" Scott and Deputy LAPD Chief Robert Arcos.

Beck announced earlier this year that he would retire June 27, a year and a half before his second five-year term ends. He has led the department since 2009.

The choice of the next chief carries a significant amount of symbolic weight in light of the department's troubled history on race relations, the current .MeToo movement bringing sexual harassment into the public debate, and President Donald Trump's aggressive rhetoric and actions on immigration, although Garcetti and some other city leaders said the new chief would be chosen based on their qualifications and not their race or ethnicity.

Scott, who is black, was sworn in as San Francisco's police chief on January 23, 2017, after 27 years at the LAPD, where he rose through the ranks to become a commander in 2012 and Deputy Chief of the South Bureau.

Arcos, a Latino, leads the LAPD's Central Bureau, which includes downtown and parts of northeast Los Angeles.

Moore is in charge of LAPD's patrol operations. Moore's father was Basque, and he is listed as Hispanic on LAPD rosters.

Some city leaders, including Councilman Joe Buscaino, a former LAPD officer, had called on the city to hire its first female chief after Beck announced his retirement. Sandy Jo MacArthur, who retired three years ago as an assistant chief, applied for the job but was not among the three finalists, and Assistant Chief Beatrice Girmala did not apply for the job despite being viewed by some as a potential top candidate.

From Phil Shuman:

It's Michel Moore's chance. After 36 plus years protecting and serving in just about every job the LAPD has, he now has the one he's wanted. The top one, the Chief's job.

It was made official at a packed news conference in Mayor Eric Garcetti's offices this afternoon, Garcetti making the final selection from Moore, Deputy Chief Robert Arcos of the LAPD and former LAPD top brass Bill Scott, now Chief of the San Francisco Police Department.

Moore said all the right things about building bridges and how the greatness of the organization is not its Chief but its people, and how he wants to continue to build trust in the LAPD, acknowledging respect for and trust in the LAPD is certainly not universal.

But he certainly has it, and he's about as sincere and dedicated and hard working and well read and as devoted to the City as they come, according to those who know him best. Even if he lives in Santa Clarita. For now.