When former LA Police Department (LAPD) chief Bill Bratton talks, people in LA listen. 

So when Bratton says Nithya Raman would be making a terrible mistake if she were to follow through on her campaign pledge to fire current LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell, that ought to count.

Angelenos remember Bratton as the man who cleaned up the LAPD and repaired its relationship with the African-American community.

Bratton took the extraordinary step of reaching out to Connie Rice, one of the department’s most vociferous critics, and enlisting her to help reform the department.

The results were astonishing. 

The LAPD moved toward “community policing” — not Raman’s unarmed “alternatives” to police, but rather a police force that took part in the everyday lives of the people that it was assigned to protect.

The LAPD also became more diverse, and more reflective of the city it serves.

Even though LA, like other big cities, exploded in anti-police riots in 2020, in a way, much of the work of reform had already been done.

Bratton has also been the commissioner of police in Boston and New York. In both cities, he oversaw improvements in public safety. He is probably the nation’s most highly regarded authority on policing.

Raman has flip-flopped on the issue — a fact that came up in the last mayoral debate.

But she has never recanted her stated desire to see McDonnell leave ASAP.

Bratton, who worked alongside McDonnell for years at the LAPD, told The California Post that replacing McDonnell before his term ends in 2030 would be a disaster. “I can almost predict with certainty… that you will see a potential mass exodus from the LAPD with that type of political posturing and political drama,” he said.

He also noted that Raman’s rumored pick to replace McDonnell would be radical George Gascón, the George Soros-backed “criminal justice reform” fanatic who lost his 2024 reelection campaign for LA County district attorney by more than 20 points.

“If she were to bring him or somebody like him into the department, that complicates it even further,” he added.

The department needs “stability,” not upheaval, he concluded.

Raman’s aim of firing McDonnell goes beyond what even Zohran Mamdani has done in New York City.

While Mamdani’s radical base wanted him to fire NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, the socialist mayor decided to keep Tisch in her post, which helped shore up public morale.

The extremists in the Democratic Socialists of America — Raman’s organization — want a scalp to satisfy their anger against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). 

But the LAPD — like it or not — does not enforce immigration law.

Voters should heed Bratton’s warning. And Raman — who could win — should consider changing her mind, again.

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