In picking next police chief, LA mayor faces pivotal choice tinged with politics, race and gender
LOS ANGELES_Shortly after Charlie Beck announced he will retire as chief of the Los Angeles Police Department, City Councilman Joe Buscaino declared on Twitter that it was time for a woman to take his place.
Others speculated Friday about whether the department should be led by an insider or an outsider, someone who will keep the department on the same path or radically change its course, or someone who reflects the diversity of Los Angeles - perhaps a Latino, or an Asian American.
The question of who should replace Beck is a pivotal one for Mayor Eric Garcetti. It is a closely watched decision laced with sensitive matters of race and gender, tied to the politically perilous terrain of crime
