The chief spokesperson for the Los Angeles Police Division has resigned amid accusations from the area’s high federal prosecutor that her workplace was leaking data, in keeping with three sources aware of the matter however not cleared to talk publicly.
Jennifer Forkish, the LAPD’s public data director, mentioned she left the division Thursday on the request of Chief Jim McDonnell however vehemently denied making any unauthorized disclosures.
“Any suggestion that I’ve ever shared or leaked data to the media is categorically false,” she mentioned in a press release. “Nobody within the Division, together with the Chief has ever raised or mentioned this baseless allegation with me, as a result of it merely by no means occurred. Anybody claiming in any other case is mendacity.”
The three regulation enforcement sources mentioned the chief’s issues about Forkish’s general efficiency had been mounting, and that stress Tuesday from appearing U.S. Atty. Invoice Essayli might have prompted her ouster.
The drama started Tuesday night after a Instances reporter reached out to an official on the U.S. legal professional’s workplace to inquire about plans to schedule a information convention associated to the Palisades fireplace.
Flanked by McDonnell and different regulation enforcement leaders, Essayli introduced at a briefing on Wednesday that authorities had arrested and charged a 29-year-old Uber driver with deliberately sparking probably the most damaging fires in California historical past.
Earlier than the media occasion, in keeping with the three sources who had been briefed on the matter, Essayli referred to as LAPD senior employees and demanded to know who within the division had tipped the paper off to the information convention, which had not but been formally scheduled when The Instances requested about it.
It wasn’t instantly clear why Forkish was suspected of unveiling particulars in regards to the information convention, which federal authorities introduced to members of the media by way of e-mail at 5 a.m. Wednesday.
Forkish had already left work that afternoon when McDonnell summoned her again to his workplace at LAPD headquarters for a gathering with him and Assistant Chief Dominic Choi, she informed The Instances. McDonnell didn’t reference a name with Essayli throughout the assembly, telling Forkish solely that he didn’t share her long-term imaginative and prescient for the division’s public relations technique, she mentioned.
She mentioned the dialog revolved across the distinction of opinion in regards to the division’s general media technique, including that “there has by no means been any dialog with me relating to the potential of a leak with anybody from the LAPD.”
Choi wouldn’t tackle any cellphone dialog between LAPD management and Essayli. He informed The Instances he couldn’t talk about Forkish’s case attributable to confidentiality round personnel issues however confirmed she submitted her letter of resignation on Thursday morning.
“We don’t want any sick will or something for her,” he mentioned in a short phone interview. “We thank her for her service and every thing she’s carried out and for her time with the division.”
McDonnell didn’t reply to a cellphone name and e-mail searching for touch upon Thursday. Inquiries to the U.S. legal professional’s workplace and Mayor Karen Bass additionally went unreturned.
Forkish expressed gratitude for her time with the LAPD.
“After a lot thought, I’ve determined to step down from my position to pursue new alternatives,” she wrote in a press release. “I accomplish that with immense satisfaction in what my crew and I completed collectively. We informed the exhausting tales with honesty and stability, supported our officers and our metropolis in moments of disaster, and constructed a basis of professionalism that I’ll all the time be happy with.”
For months, phrase has circulated within the U.S. legal professional’s workplace in Los Angeles that Essayli — a Trump appointee — is making an attempt to root out leaks to the media. The LAPD has itself routinely opened investigations into workers who converse with journalists with out authorization, and confronted lawsuits from workers who claimed they had been falsely accused of leaks.
Forkish started her profession working for former Los Angeles Metropolis Councilman Dennis Zine, who labored as an LAPD cop for greater than three many years earlier than going into politics. She later had stints at PR corporations round city, together with GCG Rose & Kindel. On the lobbying and disaster communication agency EKA, she labored with Celine Cordero, the long run mayor’s deputy chief of employees.
After working as a vice chairman of company communications for on line casino big Caesars Leisure Corp. in Las Vegas, Forkish served as a spokesperson for former Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. George Gascón for a number of months in 2024.
Eric Rose, a companion at EKA, the place he was as soon as Forkish’s boss, mentioned she has made a optimistic mark at each cease of her profession.
“Jennifer is an completed public affairs skilled with deep and numerous experience, having labored with elected officers on the native, state and federal ranges for greater than 20 years,” he mentioned.
However Forkish’s appointment to the LAPD job was not with out controversy. A number of division sources not licensed to talk publicly mentioned a dispute over Forkish’s wage calls for created pressure earlier than she began on the job. Then, the sources mentioned, there was a disagreement over technique between Forkish and her predecessor, Capt. Kelly Muniz, which ended with Muniz’s switch to a different unit.
Some press advocates say McDonnell’s tenure has been marked by battle with the native media. The division faces lawsuits for aggressive habits by officers towards journalists who lined protests in opposition to the Trump administration over the summer season, and a federal decide has barred police from concentrating on reporters with less-lethal projectiles throughout demonstrations.
Adam Rose, a deputy director of advocacy for the Freedom of the Press Basis, mentioned the division has in current months been frustratingly unresponsive when confronted with studies of abuses by officers.
“Whereas I usually vehemently disagreed with previous PIOs and previous division management, at the very least they had been responsive,” Rose mentioned. “The truth that McDonnell and his employees are so recalcitrant — and are so reluctant — to do their jobs is shameful.”
In her assertion, Forkish mentioned she is happy with her time on the LAPD.
“I’ve all the time approached this work with transparency, respect, and accountability, and that can by no means change,” she mentioned.
Instances employees writers James Queally and Brittny Mejia contributed to this report.
