List for Chief’s Job Cut to Seven

A screening committee reviewing 32 applicants for the Los Angeles police chief’s job has narrowed the field to seven contenders who will be interviewed by committee members before a list of semifinalists is forwarded to the Police Commission, officials confirmed Wednesday.

Four of the candidates are from within the Los Angeles Police Department and three are from other agencies, officials said. The contenders, sources said, include: Deputy Chiefs Bernard Parks, Mark Kroeker, David Gascon, and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Chief Lee D. Baca.

The city’s Personnel Department has declined to identify any of the candidates while the screening process is undertaken.

William Fujioka, head of the Personnel Department, said the screening committee significantly winnowed down the pool of candidates after reviewing resumes and essays during a meeting last Friday.

The 10-member committee will reconvene July 9 to conduct 45-minute interviews with each of the seven remaining contenders. If the committee is satisfied with the candidates’ responses, their names will be forwarded to the Police Commission.

“The committee members are very serious about their job,” Fujioka said. “Before they certify their list, they want to address issues with the candidates that they could not deal with just by reviewing paperwork. . . . They want to be 100% sure that these are the right candidates.”

The five-member Police Commission will narrow the list to three finalists, in order of preference, to the mayor, who will select the next chief. The mayor’s selection must receive final approval by a City Council majority.

Several of the seven candidates were contacted Wednesday but declined comment, citing concerns about improperly influencing the process.

The seven candidates have been told to expect to be interviewed by the Police Commission either July 16 or 17. The commission has promised to forward its list to the mayor by July 29.

Because of changes in the City Charter, this is the first time the city’s police chief is being chosen in this manner. Previously, the chief was selected by the Police Commission after a series of written and oral examinations and could only be removed for just cause. Under the charter amendments, the chief can only serve two five-year terms, subject to the Police Commission’s approval.

The Police Commission denied former Chief Willie L. Williams a second term in March, citing its displeasure with, among other things, his ability to effectively lead the department.

Because the chief is now selected by the mayor, some department observers have charged that the new process politicizes the chief’s job and makes the chief beholden to the mayor’s wishes.