After an initial round of interviews, the field of candidates to become the next Los Angeles police chief has been narrowed down to about 10, according to multiple sources familiar with the national search.

The pared-down list is split between police department veterans and outsiders, including several with deep ties to Southern California law enforcement.

Among them is former LAPD Deputy Chief and former Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell, whose name has been floated around LAPD headquarters and City Hall for months as a possible candidate. His candidacy, confirmed by at least three sources, brings new momentum to what many consider a tight race to become the city's next top cop.

The sources agreed to speak to The Times on the condition that they not be named because the search process is to remain confidential.

According to sources, the police department veterans who were interviewed for the second time include Deputy Chief Blake Chou, who oversees LAPD special operations, Deputy Chief Emada Tingirides, commander of the police department's South Bureau, Deputy Chief Donald Graham, head of the Traffic Bureau, Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton, head of the Criminal Bureau, and Commander Lillian Carranza of the Central Bureau.

WATTS, CA – August 1, 2023 – “We’re here to talk about peace,” said Los Angeles Police Deputy Chief Emada Tingirides as she spoke with the Watts Gang Task Force, community leaders and elected officials on August 1, 2023 in front of Watts City Hall to call for an end to gun violence in Watts.

(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)

Los Angeles Police Department Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton (foreground), accompanied by (left) LAPD Commander Steve Lurie, LAPD Detective Brent Hopkins, LAPD Commander Jay Mastick, and Los Angeles City Council Member Tracy Park, announces the arrest of a suspect in the Venice Canal attack during a press conference at the LAPD Pacific District in Los Angeles on April 12, 2024. The suspect, Anthony Jones, 29, was arrested in San Diego. Two women were hit in the back with a club in separate incidents in the Venice Canal area on the evening of April 6.

(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)

Detective Lillian Carranza, Commander of the Los Angeles Police Department's Commercial Crimes Division, (Lt. Carlos Solano, left, and Lt. Theo Edwards, right) provide details of arrests made in connection with recent burglaries at the homes of prominent Los Angeles residents during a press conference at Los Angeles Police Department Headquarters on October 2, 2018 in Los Angeles, California.

(Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times)

Other outside candidates scheduled to interview include former Houston and Miami police chief Art Acevedo and former Los Angeles Police Department deputy chief Robert Arcos, who now works for the Los Angeles County district attorney's office. Law enforcement leaders from mid-sized agencies in the South and Pacific Northwest are also said to have received second-round interviews.

Art Acevedo, a former police chief for Miami, Houston and Austin, speaks at a protest near Capitol Hill in Washington organized by Everytown for Gun Safety and its grassroots networks Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, Wednesday, June 8, 2022. Protesters are demanding that Congress address gun safety issues.

(Susan Walsh/The Associated Press)

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MAY 7, 2018: Los Angeles Police Department Deputy Chief Robert Arcos assists Chief Charlie Beck as he performs his final formal examination as Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department's Central District on May 7, 2017 at the Central District Police Station.

(Al Seib/Los Angeles Times)

Recruiters plan to conduct further private interviews with about 10 candidates over the next few weeks, according to the people.

The process is shrouded in an unusual level of secrecy.

Candidates' names are sometimes withheld to protect the identities of people working in other cities, but this time officials also refused to say how many people had applied for the post, saying only that the number was “more than 25.” A source later told The Times that the number was more than 30.

At stake is the chance to lead the nation's third-largest local police force at a pivotal moment in the country's history. Whoever takes the job will inherit a wary department desperate for clear leadership and a city concerned about both crime and uses of force.

One of the key questions facing Mayor Karen Bass is whether an outsider would be better suited to introduce reforms to the organization than someone who has worked their way up here and already understands the political and labor landscape.

Bass and other members of the Los Angeles Police Commission have embarked on a citywide listening tour, asking residents, officers and business owners what they want in the next police chief. During the public forum, many attendees urged the selection of an insider familiar with policing a city as large and diverse as Los Angeles.

Some spoke of the importance of choosing someone who understands the police department's complicated history with the communities it serves. But unlike other recent chief selections, there have been growing calls within the LAPD for an outside candidate to breathe new life into the organization.

The Los Angeles Police Protective League, the powerful bargaining group for the city's rank-and-file police officers, has not publicly taken a position on the insider-outsider debate.

The search began in February when former Chief Michel Moore retired. One of his former deputy chiefs, Dominic Choi, was selected as interim chief. Moore will remain as a consultant on the search, and Choi has said he does not intend to seek the chief position permanently.

Running the LAPD is more about risk management than crime fighting. The police department is a multi-billion-dollar operation with more than 10,000 employees and operates under intense scrutiny. The job involves balancing often-conflicting demands. Violent crimes, such as murders and robberies, are up from this time last year. The number of police shootings is also up, worrying the police's civilian oversight board. Meanwhile, new leaders, especially those from outside the department, are expected to be quick learners and hit the ground running.

The pool of candidates is more diverse than in recent years, but generally lacks experience. At least four women are rumored to have been selected, but all but two of the candidates are people of color. In the long history of the LAPD, there has never been a woman in charge, nor has there ever been a Latino chief in a city and department that is now more than half Latino.

Committee officials have publicly maintained that race and gender are not determining factors in the selection process, and committee Chairman Errol G. Southers and other committee members have repeatedly said they are focused on selecting the most qualified candidates, not on “checking boxes.”

Through a spokesman, Southers declined to comment.

Forecasters say Bass's pick will tell us something about the direction she sees the department heading: Picking someone from within the organization to succeed Moore would signal that the mayor wants to continue some of the reforms she started, but it would stop short of the sweeping changes some are calling for.

Some observers say the mayor's selection of an outside candidate signals he's looking for a new direction for the police department. The city has only hired two outside chiefs in the past 75 years, Willie Williams and Bill Bratton. Both hires came after the 1992 Los Angeles riots and the shocking Rampart scandal of the late 1990s, in which more than 70 officers were accused of unprovoked shootings, assaults and evidence fabrication.

The two most experienced candidates today are both outsiders. McDonnell began his career with the Los Angeles Police Department before becoming police chief in Long Beach and then running a successful campaign for Los Angeles County sheriff. He has worked with Southers and others at the University of South Carolina for the past few years. Acevedo was once chief of the California Highway Patrol in the Los Angeles area before going on to become the top cop in Austin, Houston, Miami and most recently, Aurora, Colorado.

The second round of interviews marks a key step in a months-long search: City officials initially said a hire would be finalized in late August or early September, but that timeline could stretch into the fall.

Bass will hire the next chief from a pool of candidates recommended by the committee and an outside recruiting firm. The application deadline ended late last month, and the first round of interviews with candidates began a few days later.

Bass has repeatedly said that the feedback he receives influences his decisions.

Councilman Tim McCosker said he understands the need for caution in the recruiting process, like when he, as a junior city official, participated in the national search that led to Bratton's hiring. At the same time, he said he thinks it's important for Bass to express her expectations before selecting a police chief, “one of the most important and politically significant decisions” a mayor will make.

McCosker pointed to a letter Bass sent to the City Council before Moore's reappointment that outlined the mayor's expectations, from reducing violent crime to strengthening community policing and holding officers accountable. McCosker said the mayor should be similarly clear about what he wants from the next police chief.

The mayor's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.

Experts say the LAPD job is one of the toughest in law enforcement.

Serious candidates must have a proven track record as experienced leaders, and the chief must be comfortable speaking extemporaneously and often on camera about the work of the police department from a progressive perspective to the city's elected leaders, including the mayor and City Council.

Whoever takes on the job will have to juggle many challenges at once, addressing the myriad issues facing the city, including homelessness and the fentanyl crisis.

The next chief will also need to recruit and inspire a new generation of officers, some of whom weren't even born when the Rampart scandal forced sweeping police reforms and others who came of age during the Black Lives Matter movement. Others will be eager to see how he tackles the department's notorious discipline system, which, depending on who you ask, has allegedly been used to turn a blind eye to too many bad cops or to favor well-connected ones.