Assistant Chief Dominic Choi has been named the LAPD interim chief, and while some are praising the decision, one civil rights attorney tells KNX News' Chief Correspondent Charles Feldman that he is not the right person for the job.
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Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass says that Choi is very much aligned with her views on police reform, and he's very well-known within the department, with a career dating back to 1995.
During the press conference on Wednesday, Choi said, "My role is to represent all communities within this city, and I will make sure that public safety is equally and inclusively done throughout the city.
My philosophy as interim chief is not to go in there and turn the place upside down to make significant change."
KNX News' Craig Fiegener was there-
As L.A. civil rights attorney Connie Rice sees it - that's a problem.
Rice told Feldman, "The best choice would have been an independent interim who knows LAPD very well and has a record of getting to the bottom of LAPD's problems, and that's not whom the commission chose today. They went with a safe insider who is far more likely to protect the past problems than inspect them and report to the mayor."
However, former Police Commission President Steve Soboroff disagrees, saying Choi is the best of the best and is exactly what you want from an interim chief.
Soboroff told LA's Afternoon News, "You want to get there in the right way and not rattle everything, and you want to hand the baton and prepare everything in the best way for the person that's going to bring it across the finish line."
Choi will begin his short stint as chief on March 1 after the current Chief, Michael Moore, retires. He will be the 58th leader of the LAPD and the first Asian American to hold the position.
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