Head of police benched by mayor
Nearing the 12-month milestone of his second term, L.A. police chief’s near half century service to the force was capped, concluded and reduced to less than ten minutes of his own speaking time.
The deliberate move to diminish the chief’s roles, tantamount to a demotion, comes at a time of resurfaced pressing inquiry regarding an ambiguous scholarship acceptance by the mayor.
by Ava Rosate / january 15, 2024
With furrowing eyebrows, fidgety hands and a disheveled demeanor unusual for a broadcast, Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore announced an abrupt end to his 43-year career during a press conference that appeared more as a hostage's proof-of-life video message.
Looming beside a visually forlorn Chief Moore, Los Angeles’s Mayor Karen Bass presented the conference, teeming her signature ear-to-ear grin resemblant of Jack Nicholson’s 1989 Joker portrayal. Bass, taking the lead for the 63-year old chief, thanked him for his four-decade commitment, ultimately breaking the news of Moore’s early retirement before he spoke - as if ensuring the veteren cop wouldn’t falter in delivering his lines.
“When I was first sworn in, we spoke about his reappointment - Chief Moore was the one who warned that we didn't want to be caught flat footed, and he should not serve his entire second term,” Bass said, fortifying the script before Moore took the podium. “When we spoke recently, Chief Moore let me know his timeline was moving up - to spend more time with his family.”
After the chief steps down at the end of February, leaving a career worth more than four decades, he will stay on contract and transition to a consulting role with minimal operational authority while an interim is found.
Moore’s speech, which should have been a memorable reflection and sentiment to his veteran career, was chalked full of stutters and chokes and read more like a eulogy for his career; and an apology for his absence as man of the household. But in a moment of audible clarity, as if going off script, the top cop conveyed a cognitive hint - “this decision has not been easy - as I hope my tenure demonstrates. In my mind there are always a thousand reasons to justify staying on and continuing to work with purpose. This is a profession I love and is a work I do with a passion.”
Quelling doubts, the dethronement was not a choice based on the claim of a recent investigation into Mayor Bass at the hands of Chief Moore, which has since been heavily rejected by the pair. But, a choice firmly rooted in the dire need to be around family.
Though the Mayor’s Office has labeled the investigation a debunked political attack, as well as a waste of time and resources, the timeline for Moore's retirement lines up accordingly with the release of information regarding the claimed investigation.
Around the time of Moore's initial conversation with Bass regarding retirement, said to be before Christmas, a statement from the Los Angeles Police Department was published on December 20. The LAPD declared the media report alleging a probe by the Internal Affairs Division into Mayor Karen Bass was patently false.
According to the L.A. Times, at the end of December of 2023, a complaint filed with the Office of the Inspector General from two internal affairs detectives claimed they were approached and instructed by the head of police to investigate an alleged quid pro quo; including the L.A. mayor and a monetary scholarship from the University of Southern California.
In 2011, Bass was awarded a scholarship valued over $95,000 by the USC School of Social Work’s Dean - Marilynn Flynn. The dean personally approached and offered the then-congresswoman a full-tuition scholarship that was not publicized to students and lacked a formal application process. Without even being accepted into the program yet, Bass was awarded.
The repayment for the scholarship? Backing for a bill that would give USC federal funding - and when Bass graduated, she sponsored a bill that would give private institutions,not only USC, access to federal funding.
During the time of acceptance, Bass was in her first year of congress, exempting her from accepting gifts. Though the award clearly fell within the definition of a gift, it was cleared and excused as an “unusual case,” as stated by The House Committee on Ethics.
In 2021, Federal prosecutors stated that Bass’s dealings with USC were critical to a similar federal corruption case involving Flynn.
Marilynn Flynn was charged in a bribery case in 2023 and sentenced to 3 years of probation, 18 months of home confinement and an order to pay $150,000, after accepting $100,000 from L.A. County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas and routing it into his son’s non profit through USC.
The mayor’s office left a statement regarding the resurface of her questionable award acceptance, declaring: “Mayor Bass’ focus is on reducing crime. People need to get with that program and stop wasting time and resources on debunked political attacks.”
Bass and Moore will collaborate one last time to release a "formal report" regarding the state of the city at the end of February.
The writer and publisher of this article do not condone, endorse, nor oppose political figures mentioned.
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