LOS ANGELES _ The three finalists for chief of the Los Angeles Police Department are Robert Arcos, Michel Moore and Bill Scott, according to three sources familiar with the selection process. The candidates in the racially diverse group have decades of experience in the department.
Arcos, a third-generation Mexican-American, is in charge of Central Bureau, which includes downtown and parts of northeast Los Angeles. Moore oversees the LAPD's patrol operations. Scott, who is African-American, left the LAPD more than a year ago to become police chief in San Francisco.
Many LAPD and City Hall insiders had expected a woman to be in the top three and potentially go on to become the department's first female police chief.
Sandy Jo MacArthur, who retired three years ago as an assistant chief, did not make the cut, according to the three sources, who were not authorized to discuss the selection process publicly.
Another high-ranking female LAPD official, Beatrice Girmala, was considered an initial front-runner but did not apply for the job.
Arcos and Moore said they could not comment on the selection process. Scott did not respond to a request for comment.
Last week, the Police Commission interviewed five people _ Arcos, MacArthur, Moore, Scott and LAPD Deputy Chief Phil Tingirides _ from a field of 31 applicants.
The civilian commission, which oversees the LAPD, forwarded its top three choices to Mayor Eric Garcetti on Friday. Commission President Steve Soboroff declined to name any of the finalists.
Bucking recent precedent, Garcetti had announced that he would not release the names of the finalists, "to protect the confidentiality of the candidates."
In 2009, then-Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa held a news conference to name the three finalists for police chief: Moore; Charlie Beck, who won the post; and another LAPD insider, Jim McDonnell, who went on to become Los Angeles County sheriff.
Before William Bratton was chosen chief in 2002, police commissioners and then-Mayor James K. Hahn spoke publicly about the three finalists, who were all from outside the department.
Garcetti has said he would interview the three finalists one on one and then probably do a second round of interviews with some City Council members present. He said he expected to pick the new chief by the end of the month and possibly earlier, which would be weeks before Beck's June 27 departure. The mayor's choice must be ratified by the City Council.
The commission has ranked the finalists, but the mayor is not obliged to abide by the order. Moore was ranked first in 2009, and Beck ended up getting the job.
Garcetti, who is contemplating a run for U.S. president, has said that he wants a police chief who is respected by the rank and file but is not afraid to discipline officers when necessary, who embraces reforms, who works to improve relationships with residents and who finds ways to get things done with a limited budget.
He has said that he is not looking for a chief "from a particular demographic."
Arcos, 57, grew up in Texas and L.A. If selected, he would be the first Latino police chief of a city that is nearly 50 percent Latino. He has the backing of the Mexican-American Bar Association of Los Angeles County, which also interviewed MacArthur and Moore before endorsing Arcos.
As the deputy chief over Central Bureau, Arcos works at ground zero for two of the LAPD's most pressing issues: homelessness and fear of deportation among the city's immigrant residents.
Moore, 57, is first assistant chief over the office of operations, making him Arcos' direct supervisor. Moore is known as a detail-oriented manager with a mastery of crime statistics. Early in his career, he developed a version of the computerized crime-mapping systems that are heavily used today. In 2000, he was assigned to clean up the Rampart Division after a corruption scandal there resulted in the overturning of more than 100 criminal convictions.
His father was Basque, and he is listed as Hispanic on department rosters, but his heritage has not played a significant role in defining him in the department.
Scott was the LAPD's highest-ranking African-American officer when he left to lead the San Francisco Police Department, which was reeling from controversial police shootings and a scandal involving racist texts sent by police officers. He is working to implement reforms recommended by the U.S. Department of Justice in San Francisco and has pushed to arm all his officers with Tasers.
In his 27 years at the LAPD, Scott helped oversee reforms required by a federal consent decree. He finished his career as deputy chief of South Bureau, which patrols much of South Los Angeles.
