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Michel Moore new LAPD chief

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Michel Moore (263019)
Michel Moore

Los Angeles Police Department Assistant Chief Michel Moore was chosen this week 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.

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