Karen Bass accused Nithya Raman of repeatedly “flip-flopping” over whether she would retain LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell, following two television interviews over the weekend.
During an ABC7 interview Saturday, Raman was asked whether she would fire McDonnell. On NBC the following day, she faced questions about reports that she wanted to replace him with former Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón.
Raman gave a firm but halting denial when asked about the possibility of appointing Gascón, who was frequently criticized by opponents as being soft on crime, to lead the LAPD.
“No, no. I don’t know where the rumors are coming from. I don’t know him personally,” Raman said.
Raman had previously issued an outright denial to the California Post regarding any plan to appoint Gascón.
The dispute follows a controversy last week, when The Post reported on a since-deleted video showing McDonnell’s face covered by a large red X alongside the words “fascist liars.”
During her NBC appearance Sunday, Raman was pressed about rumors that she wanted to bring back Gascón, who lost his position as Los Angeles County district attorney in 2024.
A day earlier, during an ABC7 interview, Raman said replacing McDonnell was not an immediate priority.
“You know, replacing the chief of police is not on my 100-day agenda. Restoring trust with our law enforcement and the public is on my 100-day agenda,” Raman said.
Asked about Bass’ warning that removing McDonnell before the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics could prove disastrous, Raman appeared to point to a change after 2030.
“I believe his term goes through 2030, if I’m not mistaken, and at that point I think I would be looking to appoint a new chief,” she said.
The reports add to the challenges facing Raman, who spent much of the previous week addressing the deleted social media video featuring McDonnell’s crossed-out face beneath the message, “Only you can stop fascist liars.”
Raman’s campaign said the message was aimed at ICE and the Trump administration rather than McDonnell, and attributed the video’s editing to left-wing influencer Ed Choi.
The controversy has also highlighted conflicting accounts of when Raman would replace McDonnell if she defeats Mayor Karen Bass in the Nov. 3 election.
“This is yet another example of Nithya Raman having no core beliefs and telling people what they want to hear to advance her political career,” Bass campaign spokesperson Alex Stack told the California Post.
“It’s not leadership, and it’s not what LA needs in its mayor.”
“Public safety in LA is too important to play political games with. We need to recruit more officers and boost public safety; you don’t do that by calling our officers ‘fascist liars,’” Stack said.
“Raman can’t even come clean about who she wants to bring in.”
When The California Post sought clarification Saturday, however, Raman offered a different timeline.
“Chief McDonnell’s term ends in 2030 and I would expect to replace him prior to that,” she told The Post, adding that she would pursue a “careful, orderly transition.”
Raman said she did not know where the Gascón rumors originated, but multiple law enforcement and political sources told The Post his name has been circulating inside City Hall and among rank-and-file cops as a possible replacement.
The prospect has alarmed law enforcement officials, who warn appointing him could trigger a mass exodus from the already understaffed LAPD.
“Gascón would turn the LAPD upside-down,” Dennis Zine, 79, a former LA City Councilman and longtime LAPD officer, told The Post.
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“He basically flipped from one extreme to the other — law enforcement to pro-criminal.”
“I would think you’d see a mass exodus of officers with less than five years on the job,” Zine warned. “It’s like the ship is sinking. Let’s get out while we can.”
Los Angeles City Councilwoman Traci Park also said that the choice of police chief could worsen the department’s staffing crisis.
“Decisions about leadership and the appointment of the chief and command staff is something that will absolutely directly impact our staffing levels at LAPD,” Park said.
The Los Angeles Police Protective League was even more forceful.
“Apparently, Nithya Raman’s public safety plan consists of appointing the author of Proposition 47, George Gascón, to be our Chief of Police,” the union’s board of directors charged.
“We’d be laughing if it wasn’t so frightening that after getting bounced two-years ago as District Attorney by a landslide, Raman wants to flip her nose at voters and return Gascón to power.”
Gascón, 72, has longstanding ties to LA’s democratic socialist movement, with the DSA’s Los Angeles chapter urging voters to support him in 2024.
A well-connected senior LAPD officer claimed Gascón is widely believed within the department to be Raman’s preferred replacement.
“It’s not a secret. Everyone knows that. Everyone saying that she’s in touch with him,” the officer said. First Assistant US Attorney Bill Essayli blasted the prospect during a Skid Row press conference.
“I think when you talk to the residents of LA, they want law and order, the days of lawlessness are over,” Essayli said. “Mr. Gascón lost an election over that. So the decision will be made by the voters.”
Political strategist Michael Trujillo questioned whether voters would accept Gascón’s return.
“After voters rejected Gascón as being a public safety official as our DA, do they really want Nithya Raman to backdoor him in as being the chief of police?” Trujillo told The Post.
Gascón joined the LAPD in 1978 and rose to assistant chief before leading police departments in Mesa, Arizona and San Francisco.
He later became San Francisco’s district attorney and won the Los Angeles County DA’s office in 2020.
His four years as LA’s top prosecutor sparked bitter battles over sentencing enhancements, juvenile prosecutions and policies critics considered too lenient.
Supporters argued his reforms reduced excessive punishment and racial disparities. Voters ousted him in 2024, electing Nathan Hochman.
Zine warned a Gascón appointment could drive officers into retirement or neighboring departments just as Los Angeles prepares for the Olympics.
“You’re gonna see a lot of them leaving before the Olympics. There’s no question,” he said.
“We don’t have enough officers now to maintain policing the city of Los Angeles, let alone the drain it’s gonna take on the Olympics.”
One current Los Angeles prosecutor delivered an equally stark assessment.
“Law enforcement hates him. Voters hate him. And Raman attempting to resurrect him should terrify residents of Los Angeles who suffered under the crime spree that took place while Gascón was the DA,” the prosecutor told The Post.
“It’s a massive step backwards.”
