February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
Another finalist is Timoney’s former boss in New York, Bill Bratton, the Irish-American former top cop in both Boston and New York.
Timoney was Bratton’s first deputy commissioner in New York during a time when crime in the city plummeted. He subsequently went on to become police chief in Philadelphia.
The final decision on who is to lead the LAPD rests in the hands of L.A. mayor James Hahn.
A spokeswoman for Hahn told the Echo Tuesday that Hahn was not tied to a particular date in terms of making his final decision.
“He can take as long as he needs to take,” the spokeswoman said.
Timoney, who was not available for comment, is currently working in the private sector in New York as chief executive officer for Beau Dietl and Associates, the private security and investigations firm.
He told the Echo in an interview earlier this year that he hoped to return to public sector work and that being a police commissioner was always in the back of his mind.
He was, however, referring at the time to the top job in New York City.
Timoney joined the ranks of the NYPD in 1969, was assigned to the 44th Precinct and in 1977, was transferred to the Narcotics Division where he worked as a narcotics investigator.
He was promoted to sergeant 1980, lieutenant in 1983, captain in 1985, deputy inspector in 1988, inspector in 1990, deputy chief in 1992 and chief of department in 1994.
Timoney was the youngest officer in the history of the NYPD to hold the “four star” position of Chief of Department. He was appointed first deputy commissioner on January 13, 1995, the second highest rank in the NYPD.
In this post, Timoney set about merging the NYPD with the transit and housing police departments resulting in a unified department of 39,000 officers and 9,000 civilian employees.