San Francisco police chief won't say whether he's seeking LAPD job

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- San Francisco Police Chief William Scott will neither confirm nor deny that he's applied to be LA's top cop.

"Well look, I'm not going to confirm an unsubstantiated source," said Scott. "I have to be focused on this job. We have a lot of work to do. There are the recommendations we're trying to get in place with the DOJ reforms. We've got property crimes we're making good progress on," he added.

FULL INTERVIEW: William Scott discusses job as SFPD chief

The Los Angeles Times is reporting that Scott is one of 31 people who've applied for the LAPD job.

LA's current chief, Charlie Beck, is retiring next month. Scott served as an LAPD deputy chief prior to his swearing-in at City Hall in January of 2017, and since then, speculation has persisted that Scott is a short-timer, eager to get back to LA, despite having made comments to the contrary in an exclusive interview with ABC7 the day he was announced as the next chief.

"I'm a man of my word, first and foremost. The mayor, the police commission have put the confidence that I'm going to come here and give it my all as long as they will have me here," said Scott in an interview with ABC7's Vic Lee in December of 2016.

EXCLUSIVE: SFPD Chief William Scott discusses department's future

If Scott ends up leaving, at least one police commissioner will be sorry to see him go.

"He's just really been an open, receptive and thoughtful chief and I've been on the commission a year now and I've appreciated working with him so I'd miss him," said San Francisco Police Commissioner Robert Hirsch.

Scott has reportedly advanced in the selection process. He's among the candidates scheduled to be interviewed.

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