LAPD Chief Nominee Speaks Personally of the Past

(FOX 11) - On Monday, the mayor introduced his choice for L.A's top cop to take over the LAPD for the retiring Chief Charlie Beck.

Today Beck's Assistant Chief Michel Moore hit the ground running in a meet and greet with the public.

With Asst. LAPD Chief Michel Moore by his side Mayor Eric Garcetti reaches out and shakes my hand. He says "Thanks for being here." Moore follows suit. I've known them both for a long time. Moore... going back to the Rampart Scandal. He calls those "dark days". They were. It was a scandal of major proportions.

The Rampart scandal... shootings, beatings, evidence planting - stealing narcotics.. dealing it. It was one of the biggest police scandals in the 1990's. Some 70 officers were implicated for misconduct. At the time the department said it was tough to get new recruits because of what happened. Some of the veterans left the department for police jobs elsewhere.

It was under that dark cloud that Moore was given command of the station to turn things around. Says Moore, "We had been portrayed and had suffered a grievous loss and that is the trust of the public. And, our people felt attacked for the actions of a few."

It would take a long time to get that trust back and, for some, its still not there. Among those feeling that way is Melina Abdullah who heads up Black Lives Matter. She tells FOX 11, "Of the three names that were mentioned this is the worst possible selection that we can imagine. When we think of what he's done and how entrenched he has been in the administration... basically it is the continuance of a Charlie Beck often touted as the worst police chief in the country."

To that Moore says, "I would - without sounding defensive - believe that I'm a change agent. That I'm a reformer; someone who does think different. What I will tell people today is what I bring is enthusiasm and passion. I bring knowledge and background of how we've done policing well and how we've made mistakes. (The) mistakes we've made are that we've attempted is to arrest our way out of crime."

He wants to implement more techniques involving prevention and intervention.

To the naysayer Moore says, "I would ask that each individual that has that question not just look at my background and not just listen to what I say but watch closely what I do. I'm a person of integrity and live by my word. That's all that I have."

Moore believes the LA City Council will take up his nomination to be the next Chief by the end of the month.