Los Angeles Police Department Chief Michel Moore was accused of ordering detectives to investigate Mayor Karen Bass and her USC scholarship.
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Two Internal Affairs detectives filed complaints with the Office of the Inspector General, noting that the timing of the request, which was in early January 2023, was suspicious, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The Office of Inspector General for the Board of Police Commissioners confirmed to KNX News that it received misconduct allegations from the two LAPD detectives against Chief Moore.
In one of the complaints, which was obtained by the Times, one of the detectives said in the complaint that they believe the investigation request was “done for the personal benefit of Chief Moore to assure his reappointment as Chief of Police.” They refused the assignment.
Joe Buscaino, former L.A. City Councilmember, said the complaint is “out of character” and “completely bizarre.”
“For Chief Moore wanting to dip his toes into investigating a corruption case that has already been cleared by the House Committee on Ethics in Washington D.C…I'm scratching my head on this,” he said. “Very unusual…especially if you look at the timing of when the complaint was filed soon after the mayor was elected. You have a chief of police who wanted to remain and continue to command the LAPD and keeping in mind the city charter allows the mayor through the Civilian Oversight Commission to hire and fire the chief.”
Dennis Zine, a former L.A. City Councilmember and a retired LAPD officer, told KNX News he believes having detectives investigate Bass’ scholarship was not the right move.
“So, the police don't need to get involved in politics,” he said. “They need to get involved in law and order situations, and when there's a crime involved, obviously there's an urgency in a significant effort to determine the truth of the matter. In this particular case, I don't see any type of criminal activity whatsoever.”
Chief Moore sent KNX News the following statement:
Allegations are entirely baseless and without merit. Additionally, according to the LAT article itself, the detectives offer no evidence in their complaints to back up their claims, and neither would discuss the case further. This matter is now with the Office of the Inspector General and I look forward to their investigation into these fictitious allegations.
A spokesperson for Mayor Bass told KNX News the mayor’s focus is on reducing crime, and that people need to stop wasting time and resources on debunked political tactics.
Mayor Bass’ USC scholarship was a hot-button issue during the 2022 mayoral election. Bass’ USC scholarship was called “critical” to a corruption case involving former L.A. County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas and the former dean of USC’s School of Social Work.
In KNX News' Mayoral Debate, Bass said she would release records of the USC applications. After the debate, Bass gave KNX News a document entitled “Limited Status Application Form.”
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