James McDonnell is the former sheriff of Los Angeles County. McDonnell was elected as L.A. County's 32nd sheriff on November 4, 2014, defeating former Undersheriff

Paul Tanaka Paul K. Tanaka (born 1959) is an American former politician and a former law-enforcement officer with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. He was convicted April 4, 2016, in Federal Court of conspiracy to obstruct justice and obstruction ...

(who is now in federal prison). He replaced interim sheriff

John Scott John Scott may refer to: Academics * John Scott (1639–1695), English clergyman and devotional writer * John Witherspoon Scott (1800–1892), American minister, college president, and father of First Lady Caroline Harrison * John Work Scott (180 ...

on December 1, 2014. Scott replaced former sheriff Lee Baca (who is also in federal prison). Previously, McDonnell served as the Chief of

Police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

and before that in the

Los Angeles Police Department The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-large ...

. McDonnell was defeated in 2018 by

Alex Villanueva Alejandro Villanueva is an American law enforcement officer who served as the 33rd sheriff of Los Angeles County, California. He defeated incumbent sheriff Jim McDonnell in the 2018 L.A. County Sheriff's race, making him the first to unseat a ...

Early life and education

McDonnell grew up in a working-class neighborhood in

Brookline, Massachusetts Brookline is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, in the United States, and part of the Greater Boston, Boston metropolitan area. Brookline borders six of Boston's neighborhoods: Brighton, Boston, Brighton, A ...

. He graduated from

Saint Anselm College Saint Anselm College is a private Benedictine liberal arts college in Goffstown, New Hampshire. Founded in 1889, it is the third-oldest Catholic college in New England. Named for Saint Anselm of Canterbury (Archbishop of Canterbury from 1093 to ...

Goffstown, New Hampshire Goffstown is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 18,577 at the 2020 census. The compact center of town, where 3,366 people resided at the 2020 census, is defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as the Goffst ...

, where he received a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice. He then received a master's degree in Public Administration from the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

Career

LAPD

McDonnell began his law enforcement career as twenty-one-year-old graduate from the Los Angeles Police Academy in 1981. During his 28 years of work in the LAPD, he held every rank except

Chief of Police Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boa ...

and served as second in command to Chief

William Bratton William Joseph Bratton CBE (born October 6, 1947) is an American law enforcement officer and businessman who served two terms as the New York City Police Commissioner (1994–1996 and 2014–2016). He previously served as the Commissioner of the ...

. He was considered a frontrunner for the position but

Charlie Beck Charles Lloyd Beck (born June 27, 1953) is a retired police officer, formerly serving as the Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and subsequently as the Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department. A veteran of the department ...

was appointed instead of him. While at the LAPD McDonnell was viewed as an ambassador who helped the department connect with Los Angeles' diverse communities and political leaders as Bratton's chief of staff and second-in-command. As a candidate for Chief in 2002, McDonnell presented a plan for community-based policing that was eventually adopted by Bratton and served as the foundation to overhaul and reform the LAPD. While working for the LAPD, he held a variety of assignments in patrol, detectives, vice, gang, organized crime, homicide and other divisions. In the 1990s as a commander, he gained attention for his efforts to revitalize the LAPD's senior lead officer program and to build the LAPD forerunner to the Compstat computer crime-mapping system along with helping implement the consent decree.

LBPD

After losing the LAPD Chief's job to Charlie Beck, McDonnell in March 2010 was appointed as the

police chief The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...

, replacing former Chief

Anthony Batts Anthony W. Batts (born 1960) is an American law enforcement officer who served as the chief of three different police departments in the United States: The Long Beach, California Police Department, the Oakland, California Police Department, and ...

, who left to become the chief of the

Oakland Police Department The Oakland Police Department (OPD) is a law enforcement agency responsible for policing the city of Oakland, California, United States. As of May 2021, the department employed 709 sworn officers and 371 civilian employees. The department is div ...

. This occurred over objections by some in the department who preferred a chief from within the Long Beach Police Department and, indeed, a career LBPD officer would succeed McDonnell. As police chief, McDonnell oversaw a large increase in officer-involved shootings and a 20% decrease in sworn officers from 1,000 to 800. Violent crime also fell during McDonnell's tenure and he has received credit for improving community relations with the police, reducing gang activity, and trying to improve racial diversity in the department. After McDonnell's election on November 4, 2014, Deputy Chief Robert Luna was selected to replace him to become the 26th Police Chief of Long Beach. Luna was considered a frontrunner for the position before McDonnell was appointed and became the department's first

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

police chief.

LASD

McDonnell expressed support for a civilian oversight commission to supplement the new inspector general in monitoring the department but has stated that he is still evaluating whether the inspector general should have subpoena power and access to personnel records. He was sworn in on December 1, 2014, and became the first person from outside of the sheriff's department to be elected to the office of Sheriff in over 100 years. His attempt at reelection was rejected by the voters in 2018. He was succeeded by

. ;November 2014

Dates of rank

Personal life

McDonnell is married to Kathy McDonnell. They have two daughters.

References

External links

Campaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:McDonnell, Jim Los Angeles County, California sheriffs Law enforcement workers from California American municipal police chiefs 1959 births Living people People from Boston People from Long Beach, California People from Los Angeles Saint Anselm College alumni USC Sol Price School of Public Policy alumni Los Angeles Police Department officers