LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell has pushed back against mayoral candidate Nithya Raman’s criticism, highlighting Los Angeles’ declining crime rate while rejecting allegations that the department has worked with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
In exclusive comments to The California Post, McDonnell said Raman’s attacks on the cost of staffing the LAPD and the department’s relationships with immigrant communities and ICE were misplaced.
Raman, speaking with ABC 7 on Tuesday, said McDonnell had “lost the trust of our immigrant community here in LA.”
“It’s easy to make a broad statement like that,” McDonnell responded. “I would challenge somebody: Is that a handful of activists talking, or is that, you know, a greater feeling of discomfort in the bigger community?”
McDonnell, whose parents immigrated to the United States from Ireland in 1950, pointed to falling crime rates in Los Angeles as evidence of the department’s relationships across the city, including with immigrant communities.
“We try and work with everybody. And if they’re not happy with the level of service we’re providing or the way we’re providing it, we try and find out how and why we can make that right,” he said.
The chief also noted that most LAPD officers and more than half of the department’s civilian employees are Hispanic. He said the department does not assist with immigration enforcement, citing protocols that have been in place since 1979.
“Generalized comments like that of people not being happy or satisfied, I would love to be able to see any data behind that,” McDonnell said. “Because that’s not the feeling I get in all of my travels or in my history here in Los Angeles for half a century.”
“Our mission is to protect communities, not conduct immigration enforcement,” he added.
Raman has said she would remove McDonnell if elected. In her Tuesday interview, however, she again declined to identify a potential replacement or say whether a new chief would be chosen before the 2028 Olympics arrive in Los Angeles.
She said the city would need to conduct a search in coordination with the Police Commission and City Council.
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“It’s too important of a decision to set an arbitrary timeline or to make a decision before I’ve had a chance to talk to all the key stakeholders…” Raman said. “I will ensure that whoever we pick to be our next LAPD chief will keep us safe.”
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Raman also criticized the department’s staffing levels and expenses, saying Los Angeles was “paying half a billion dollars more for 1,500 fewer officers than we were before.”
McDonnell countered that more applicants are taking the LAPD’s recently streamlined entrance exams and seeking jobs with the department. He said higher salaries under the city’s new contract are necessary to keep pace with a highly competitive hiring market.
“We hope to be able to give a competitive hiring salary so that we’re not outclassed by smaller departments who are often more nimble in their hiring practices,” McDonnell said. “It is extremely competitive right now to be able to get the best candidates that we can.”
McDonnell said Los Angeles’ overall crime rate has dropped 10.1 percent this year, while homicides are down 9.1 percent. “On top of just raw crime numbers, we went through the World Cup, and that went off flawlessly,” he said.
Earlier this month, Raman told ABC 7 that she might retain McDonnell through 2030, but later indicated to The Post that she expects him to leave sooner.
During that interview, she was asked about Mayor Karen Bass’ warning that dismissing the chief 18 months before the Summer Games could have disastrous consequences.
“That’s all stuff that I think about now and things that certainly I will be weighing and considering as we move forward,” Raman replied.
McDonnell said he hopes to remain in the position when the Olympics come to Los Angeles, saying that would be in the city’s best interest.
“This is a very heavy lift, the largest sports event in the history of the world,” McDonnell said. “The eyes of the world will be on Los Angeles, and if we pull this off the way we were able to do with the FIFA World Cup, that will make LA a destination for many years to come.”
