The Structure and Dynamics of the LA Police Commission Are Examined

On Thursday December 18, 2025,  former LA Police Chief Michael Moore joined MAPLE’s Police Leadership Committee via zoom to discuss  his experiences with the LA Police Commission.  Moore’s appearance was arranged through the efforts of member Christine Cole, who had done work with the LA Police.  The Committee wanted to hear Moore’s experiences with the commission.  He shared these openly and candidly. 

The Chief served 40 years with the LAPD and two years as the Chief. He began by describing LA city government. The Chief executive is a Mayor and there is a 15 member City Council, that serves as the city’s legislative body. There are 4M residents in the city.  The police department as 9K employees and has a 3B budget.  What makes the city distinct and of interest to MAPLE is that the city’s departments, including the police are managed by commissions.

The police commission is comprised of five unpaid volunteers, who are supported by a full time staff and an Inspector General.  The commission conducts the hiring and firing of the Police Chief, which is done under the authority of the Major.  The Chief does have operational authority over the department, to include full authority for discipline, however the commission can impose policies, that the Chief must implement.  The police chief serves under a five year contract with removal for cause. This contract can be renewed for one additional term.  No Chief can serve longer than 10 years.  The commission can recommend termination of the chief, which must be approved by the Mayor. However, the chief retains the right to appeal to the city council, and a majority vote of the council can rescind the Mayor’s termination order.

Moore said that he found this system very workable. It is very transparent and improvements are made to it constantly. Use of Force is a major focus of the commission. All use of force incidents must be classified as; in policy, in policy with tactical adjustment necessary, or out of policy.  The key to success in this system, according to Moore is to work cooperatively with the commission. Those chiefs who did, like Bill Bratton, had very successful tours at the helm.