Former Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell, who was sworn in as Los Angeles police chief on Friday, will draw one of the nation's highest police chief salaries. The city council approved McDonnell’s base salary of $450,000. That is down from the police board’s initial proposal of $507,509 — which was a jump of more than $150,000 from the previous chief’s salary. Michel Moore, who announced his retirement in January, made a base salary of $391,268 in 2023, the Associated Press reports. McDonnell, 65, will take charge of a force of nearly 9,000 officers. The New York police commissioner, who oversees the largest police department in the country with more than 30,000 officers, makes around $243,000/ Chicago’s Superintendent of Police, Larry Snelling, makes $275,748/
The city council confirmed McDonnell’s appointment in a 10-2 vote Friday, with city council members Hugo Soto-Martinez and Eunisses Hernandez opposing. Some have criticized the decision to pay McDonnell what they call an “exorbitant” salary while the city council faces budget issues. “Why wouldn’t we start him at a lower rate? Given the situation that the city is in,” said police commissioner Maria Lou Calanche. Chuck Wexler of the Police Executive Research Forum said West Coast police chiefs generally earn more than their East Coast counterparts, according to a 2021 survey of more than 300 departmentsy.
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