Michel Moore takes over as 57th LAPD Chief

LOS ANGELES (CNS) - One day after he was unanimously confirmed by the City Council, Assistant Chief Michel Moore was sworn in by Mayor Eric Garcetti Thursday as the 57th chief of the Los Angeles Police Department during an induction ceremony.

Among those on hand for the 8 a.m. ceremony at the Los Angeles Police Academy were former LAPD chiefs Charlie Beck and William Bratton.

Moore, a 36-year veteran of the LAPD, was selected from 31 applicants as one of three finalists by the Board of Police Commissioners, and then named as Garcetti's choice earlier this month.

During his confirmation hearings by the Public Safety Committee and then the full City Council, Moore was praised by numerous members for his years of service, which has given him experience in just about every conceivable major capacity while in uniform.

"You were selected from 31 candidates because of your experience and your depth of knowledge,'' City Councilman David Ryu told Moore during a meeting of the Public Safety Committee, which immediately preceded the full City Council meeting. "You've risen through the ranks. You were a police officer, a detective, a sergeant, a lieutenant, you worked patrols, investigations, and administrative assignments throughout the city. Quite frankly you are the LAPD, and your experience and position makes you extremely qualified to represent the LAPD and the thousands of men and women who have sworn to protect and to serve.''

Moore takes over from Beck, who announced in January that he would be retiring on Wednesday -- his 65th birthday -- about a year-and-a-half before his second term was set to expire.

Before his confirmation by the City Council, Moore pledged to continue the LAPD's commitment to diversity and protecting immigrant rights.

"We are going to continue with the recognition that the rights of all people of Los Angeles, regardless of their immigration status, are to be protected,'' Moore said. "The dignity of all individuals is to be protected. Our outreach will continue. I'm proud of the diversity that our organization represents. I believe that's a tool, it's an effective means of communicating. We are a department that is a majority of minorities, and many of our members are first generation. Many of them immigrated to this country themselves.''