The incoming chief of the Los Angeles Police Department must be paid more than LA Mayor Karen Bass, the leaders of the police departments in New York and Chicago – the two largest in the nation – and even the president of the United States.
The Board of Police Commissioners, the LAPD's public oversight body, has recommended paying Jim McDonnell an annual salary of $507,509 — significantly more than his successor, Michel Moore. The salary proposal, tabled Thursday, is expected to be discussed at next week's Commission meeting and still needs City Council approval.
The compensation is on top of the salary that was advertised months ago for the position of Bob Murray and Associates, the Northern California firm that led the nation's largest search firm. Half a million dollars represents McDonnell's proposed base salary and does not include potential benefits or bonuses; and it doesn't include any pension payments he collected from his previous law enforcement stops.
McDonnell did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment from a department spokeswoman.
Salary is sure to be a drag, amid wider debate over police spending.
Last year, the council approved a four-year bonus package for rank-and-file police officers over complaints from critics who said the contract was too expensive and would take away from paying for basic services.
McDonnell was named chief last month, beating out two other candidates for the job: LAPD deputy chief Emada Tingirides and Robert “Bobby” Arcos, a former assistant chief working for the LA County District Attorney's office.
McDonnell appeared before the council's public safety committee on Tuesday to answer questions about his views on immigration, traffic enforcement and alternatives to police accountability. After a public comment period dominated by speakers opposing his nomination, the committee voted 4-1 to forward his name for consideration by the full council on Nov. 8. If confirmed, McDonnell will be sworn in on Nov. 14.
He worked for several years at USC, where he directed the school's Safe Communities Institute. Records released by the city show McDonnell also disclosed the operation of a consulting firm, drawing between $10,0001 and $100,000 a year.
His predecessor's salary was also scrutinized. When Moore was first hired, his base salary from the Police Department was $350,000. But in total he collected about $600,000 a year after enrolling in a controversial retirement plan known as the Deferred Retirement Option Plan, or DROP, which pays veteran police officers and firefighters twice as much over the last five years of their careers. Moore retired briefly before taking over as chief, earning a net salary of $1.27 million from the city.
Historically, some LAPD chiefs have led their resident supervisors, the mayor. Even with an extra zero in his bank account, McDonnell won't be the city's highest-paid executive.
Department of Water and Power general manager Janisse Quiñones, who was appointed to the role this spring, will earn $750,000 a year — nearly double that of her predecessor, Marty Adams.
Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum, a Washington-based law enforcement agency, said the LAPD chief's job is “traditionally one of the highest paid if not the highest paid in the country.”
About three-quarters of big city police departments have seen leadership change in recent years, which comes as police budgets have held steady or increased in cities across the country, Wexler said.
“Police salaries have increased across the country, driven by a large increase in retirements and resignations,” Wexler said. “So all police compensation has increased significantly, so I would say officers' salaries have increased at the same rate.”
PERF's 2021 survey found that nearly 7% of the 335 bosses polled reported an annual income of more than $250,000.
The last two New York Police Department commissioners earned an average salary of $243,000, according to news accounts. Garry McArthur, superintendent of the Chicago Police Department, makes about $260,000 a year, city records show.
By comparison, whoever wins the presidential election, Kamala Harris or Donald Trump, will be paid $400,000 a year to serve as the chief executive of the US.
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