Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell ruled that the department’s head of the Constitutional Police Office split with a top lawyer for playing the rage of the police union in the controversial release of thousands of Mugshaw-style police photos.
Among the biggest changes in staff since taking over the department, MacDonald removed Lizabeth Rhodes, the highest civilian employee in LAPD. According to multiple department sources who requested anonymity, McDonald told Rhodes through subordinates that she no longer needed her services because they had no right to discuss personnel changes.
“I thank Ms. Rod for her dedicated service, especially during the most challenging times of the department,” MacDonald said in a statement. “Her leadership and contributions played a significant role in shaping the direction of the LAPD.”
An attempt to reach Rhodes on a phone number issued by her city was unsuccessful.
Rhodes is expected to remain in the department in June as she was accumulated during her tenure, according to department sources.
Rhodes oversees the operations of various units in her role, including the Risk Management Legal Affairs Team, Audit Department and Strategic Planning Section. Her office was created in the early 2000s under the U.S. Department of Justice consent, which required reforms to address fundamental issues of responsibility that extended for decades.
Rhodes, appointed former federal prosecutor by then-chief Michel Moore, was a polarized figure within the department. Among her supporters, she is seen as a meaningless, outspoken leader who helped the department solve changing legal issues, including traffic parking, news access and news events.
But the powerful LA Police Protection Alliance often targets criticism from monthly magazines, including policies that restrict motorists and pedestrians to “excuse them to stop.”
The union represents the fifth-ranked military officer, also accusing Rhodes and Moore of publishing thousands of police photos in 2022 under the state’s Public Records Act.
Images and other information, such as official staff pay and ratings, have been handed over to journalist Ben Camacho and the radical group Lapd Spying Coalition, which transforms materials into a searchable online database called Watch the Watchers.
Users can use their name or badge number to find photos of officials, which the creators of the website call a step towards higher police transparency. Union leaders accused Rhodes and Moore of releasing information that puts officials at risk, including some who allegedly engaged in secret work.
The website of the Post-Viewer went live in March 2023, and Moore said he didn’t know the photo was released until it had happened. He apologized and ordered an internal investigation. The Office of the LAPD Inspector General initiated a separate investigation.
At the time, Mayor Karen Bass said the release “unacceptable violations that put our officials and their families’ lives at risk.”
More than 300 officers filed lawsuits against the city, accusing their families of families of the same. In turn, the city sued Camacho and stopped LAPD espionage in an attempt to capture the photos.
Officials who signed the legal challenges against the city (hundreds of numbers and listed like John) believe that the release is the harm of dozens of LAPD employees, especially those who work in sensitive tasks, must do their best to disguise themselves.
However, in November, the city Acknowledgement in court documents The vast majority of officers involved are not real secrets. The case against Camacho and Stop LAPD spy alliance has been withdrawn in court, and the city has been ordered to pay $300,000 in attorneys’ fees. The officer’s lawsuit against the city is still pending.
Department lobbyists have since pushed for changes in state laws to prevent similar disclosures in the future.
The city denied the New York Times’ request for public records, asking Rhodes and Moore to communicate about the release of the photos.
Prior to entering LAPD, Rhodes worked with Eileen Decker in the local U.S. Attorney’s Office, who later served on the LAPD’s police committee.
Rhodes has indicted several high-profile cases including former Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca, which was convicted in 2017 for foiling a federal investigation for keeping an informant away from the FBI’s handling staff and from a grand jury.
Her work at LAPD is to ensure officials comply with the law, but activists lament what they feel is unwilling to push for transformative change.
Meanwhile, the police union accused Rhodes and other department leaders of creating respect with progressive interests and making it harder for police to do their jobs.
In recent weeks, signs have shown that Rhodes is clearly favoring McDonnell.
She rarely sees her around the police headquarters and is replaced by her former Constitutional Police Director Arif Alikhan in a speech before the police commission.
Last year, Alikhan has been brought to the department to engage in “risk management and hazard reduction strategies, departmental planning and other key issues.” He received a salary of $240,000 in six months due to donations from the Police Foundation
