LAPD Chief Moore acknowledges ‘difficulty communicating’ before hospitalization

Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore on Tuesday acknowledged having difficulty with his speech before his overnight hospitalization last week, but declined to share any diagnosis or cause for his health scare.

“I was feeling ill, my speech,” he said. “I just had a sense of being out of sorts, and also having difficulty communicating.”

He said he had noticed the issue “a couple times over the course of the day,” and thinking he’d be “better safe than sorry,” decided to seek medical treatment.

Moore said he did not transport himself to the hospital, as the department had stated previously, but was driven to L.A. County-USC Medical Center by his security detail — which always drives him when he’s on duty. He was admitted March 1 and released the following day after what he described as “a series of tests.”

He said Tuesday that he was on a path to recovery and feeling better, and more conscious now of the need to take care of himself amid the stress that he and other police officials face.

“God gave me a little warning shot” about “watching my health and paying attention to some issues of my health,” Moore said. “We need to make sure that we’re getting enough rest, enough water, enough exercise and paying attention to our underlying health to make sure that we’re not only up to the task but we thrive through the conditions under which we work.”

He said there was “no lasting damage” to his health, “which I’m grateful for.”