LAPD's Top Cop Jim McDonnell, Son of Irish Immigrants, Lauded By Police Colleague
The city's top cop, Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell - who has been battling criticism from some City Councilmembers angry that his department would not "warn" local politicians of pending immigration raids - said Friday that local and federal enforcement, including the National Guard, and the Marines, have maintained separate missions. His leadership during the city's unprecedented crisis has been applauded in his hometown by police peers, including former Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis, who was at the helm of the BPD when the Boston Marathon was bombed in 2013. "Los Angeles is facing an extremely complex situation, but there is no one better equipped to serve the citizens of that great city than Jim McDonnell," Davis told Los Angeles. "Jim is one of the most respected and experienced police chiefs in the country." McDonnell, the son of Irish immigrants who raised him in a Boston housing development near Fenway Park, has been thrust into the center of an ugly political battle between his boss Mayor Karen Bass and the Trump Administration, who accused the LAPD of abandoning federal agents under attack in DTLA last week, a claim the Chief flatly denies. McDonnell, another colleague, retired Massachusetts State Police Lieutenant and current homeland security expert, Joe Lawlesss, said McDonnell should be applauded for staying "above the political frey" while making the safety of this city and his cops the priority. The praise comes as the LAPD enters the third night of a curfew over a heavily vandalized one-mile section of DTLA, destruction that occurred while his cops came under attack from agitators armed with commercial-grade fireworks, concrete blocks, and hammers.
He's also sparred with some local politicians, among them City Councilmember Imelda Padilla, who got heated at McDonnell at a City Council hearing earlier this week. Padilla, who took over former City Council President Nury Martinez's seat in the city's Sixth District, asked him McDonnell why the LAPD cannot give politicians notice of any Department of Homeland security, actions in the city, telling him he should act: "in the spirit of your loyalty to the city of Los Angeles." McDonnell responded calmly. "You're asking me to warn you of an enforcement action? No we can't do that." Padilla barked, "Why not?""That would be obstruction of justice," McDonnell responded. "You might want to talk to the city attorney about that.'
This week a City Hall employee who works as an aide to Ysabel Jurado has been put on unpaid leave following their arrest at an anti-ICE protest. The Los Angeles Sheriff's Department says Luz Aguilar was arrested around 7 p.m. on June 9 for suspicion of assaulting a police officer with a deadly weapon after they allegedly charged at police on a motorcycle. Their twin sister, Antonia Aguilar, was also arrested, and they were being held in lieu of the $50,000 bail. Aguilar had been the deputy of community growth and economic innovation for Jurado.Jurado was asked about the aide's arrest on Wednesday when McDonnell and Bass held a press conference announcing the implementation of a 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew in the heaviest hit area of DTLA. The curfew came days after McDonnell said at a press conference on Sunday that the attacks he has witnessed against officers were "disgusting." "The people who are out there doing the violence...they have a hoodie on, they have a a face mask on...these are people who do this all the time," McDonnell said of the most violent protestors. "Many come in from other places just to hurt people and cause havoc." McDonnell has been clear about not blurring lines between federal immigration actions, which the LAPD does not participate in, and working with law enforcment partners to quell violence. The number of arrests the LAPD said were made Thursday - with 33 arrests for failing to disperse and another 13 for curfew violations - had significantly dropped from the night before when there were more than 200 arrests in DTLA, including three for gun possession.
This story was originally reported by L.A. Mag on Jun 14, 2025, where it first appeared.
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