LOS ANGELES – Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass today participated in the ceremonial swearing-in ceremony of Chief Dominic H. Choi. Chief Choi was unanimously appointed by the Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners as the Interim Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department and will assume his role today, March 1. Photos are available here.
Read Mayor Bass’ remarks as delivered below:
“Good morning, everyone. This is a wonderful way to spend a Friday, to be a part of history, a first for me being Mayor for a short period of time. To have this honor is incredible.
I want to thank Dr. Southers and Council President Krekorian for your words and thank you all for being here today.
The number one job of the Mayor is to keep Angelenos safe and it is my honor to be here today as we swear in Dominic Choi as Interim Chief of Police, as we work to do just that: keep Los Angeles safe.
Interim Chief Choi’s journey of accomplishments began in 2002, when he earned a promotion to Sergeant at 77th Street Station serving as a field supervisor. In 2009, he further advanced to the role of Lieutenant, taking on the responsibility of watch commander in the Southwest area. His ascent continued in December 2017, with a promotion to Commander, where he was assigned to operations - Central Bureau.
Interim Chief Choi also served as the Department's Homeless Coordinator until July 2019. His leadership journey continued in January 2021, when he was appointed as the Director of Office of Support Services with oversight of the Administrative Services Bureau, Training Bureau, Behavioral Sciences Services and Critical Incident Review Division.
Interim Chief Choi will work to provide steady leadership in the coming months as we work to increase recruitment and retention against national trends. I do believe you serving in this role is going to help inspire Angelenos, and other people from around the country, to come join the Los Angeles Police Department.
In my conversations with you, I was drawn to your selfless service. I asked you why you didn't want to be the permanent Chief and you said it wasn't about titles, it was about service. To me, that is exactly what we need in a leader.
Before I call you up here, I just want to make sure that the historic nature of what is about to happen is not lost on anyone. Interim Chief Choi made history in 2021 by becoming the first Korean American to attain the position of Deputy Chief within the LAPD.
Today, with the oath I'm about to administer, Chief Choi will become the first Korean American to ever lead a major city police department in this country.
As I laid out before, it is Interim Chief Choi’s record of service that has brought us to this point and it is his record of service that reinforces to me that you will lead the department with stability and vigilance as we all work together to keep Angelenos safe. I had the honor and opportunity of working with you on several occasions over this last year and that was what led me to really want to see you ascend to this position.
So with that, will you join me up here so I can administer the oath. ”