Los Angeles police chief chokes up and admits ‘mistakes’ in retirement announcement

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The Los Angeles police chief is retiring, he announced Friday, in an unexpected departure as the head of one of the nation’s largest law enforcement agencies.

Chief Michel Moore’s tenure will end in February. He will stay on as a consultant for an undetermined time period. He has been chief since 2018 and had been reappointed last year for a second term as chief — though he did not plan to serve the full five years — to begin planning for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

Mr Moore said it was a “distinct honor and privilege to have served for more than four decades on the finest police department in the world and for the last five-and-a-half years as chief.”

The department has faced several controversies during Mr Moore’s time.

“During my tenure, I know I’ve made mistakes and missteps," Mr Moore said. “But I’m also confident that my work has seen success across a broad spectrum of topics, unmatched by any other law enforcement agency in this country.”

Choking up during Friday’s news conference, Mr Moore said he and his wife plan to move closer to their out-of-state daughter. He has been a police officer for more than four decades.

Moore oversaw a police department struggling, like most others nationally, to recruit new officers in recent years.

The Board of Police Commissioners will appoint an interim police chief.

The Los Angeles Police Protective League, the union that represents rank-and-file officers, did not immediately have a comment on Moore’s retirement.