Commander David Doan, a native of Los Angeles, was born and raised in Venice, California. Prior to joining the Los Angeles Police Department in 1974, he served as a student worker, while attending Santa Monica College. After earning an Associates of Arts degree in Criminal Justice, he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Administration from National University.

As a patrol officer, Deputy Chief Doan worked a variety of assignments, including narcotics and detectives. He promoted to the rank of Detective in 1981 and was assigned to the West Bureau Field Enforcement Section of Narcotics Division. In June 1981, he was promoted to Sergeant and served as a Field Supervisor in both Southwest and Central Areas. Following his promotion to Lieutenant in November 1986, Deputy Chief Doan was a Watch Commander in West Valley Area and the Detective Lieutenant in Northeast Area. As a Senior Lieutenant, he was assigned to Planning and Research Division. In October 1992, he promoted to the rank of Captain and commanded Devonshire and North Hollywood Patrol Divisions, Detective Headquarters Division, Planning and Research Division, and Pacific Area. After promoting to Commander in August 1997, he was assigned as the Department Employee Relations Administrator. In July 2001, Deputy Chief Doan was selected to oversee the newly created Risk Management Group.

In 2002, the City of Los Angeles created the Management Systems Reengineering Project (MSRP) to oversee the City