CHIEF CONTENDERS; LAPD INSIDERS THOUGHT TO BE FAVORED FOR JOB.Byline: Patrick McGreevy Daily News Staff Writer Three Latino outsiders who share strong skills in management and community-based policing are among the seven finalists hoping to become the LAPD's next chief, sources said Thursday. But Sacramento Police Chief Arturo Venegas Jr., Salt Lake City Police Chief Ruben Ortega and Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. sheriff's Division Chief Lee Baca Leroy David Baca (b. May 27 1942, East Los Angeles, California) is the Sheriff of Los Angeles County, California. After graduating from Benjamin Franklin High School (Los Angeles) in 1960, Baca worked his way through East Los Angeles College before starting with the L.A. may lack the two things that many believe are needed to get the job. None of them is a Los Angeles Police Department "LAPD" and "L.A.P.D." redirect here. For other uses, see LAPD (disambiguation).  This article or section is written like an . insider. And none
of them is named Bernard Parks, the deputy LAPD 1. LAPD - Link Access Procedure on the D channel.2. LAPD - Los Angeles Police Department. chief who is heavily favored for the job. Sources say a blue-ribbon panel Blue-Ribbon Panel (sometimes called a Blue Ribbon Commission) is an informal term generally used to describe a group of exceptional persons appointed to investigate or study a given question. has narrowed the field of 32 applicants for the job to seven: Parks, Ortega, Venegas and Baca, as well as LAPD Deputy Chiefs Mark Kroeker and Dave Gascon Gascon inhabitant of Gascony, France; people noted for their bragging. [Fr. Hist.: NCE, 1049] See : Boastfulness and LAPD Cmdr. Art Lopez. With racial considerations a factor, five are Latinos, one (Parks) is African-American and one (Kroeker) is white. Officials say Mayor Richard Riordan Richard J. Riordan (born May 1, 1930) is a Republican politician from California, U.S. who served as the California Secretary of Education from 2003–2005 and as Mayor of Los Angeles from 1993–2001. Riordan ran for Governor of California unsuccessfully in 2002. favors appointing an LAPD insider to the job, and is leaning toward Parks. ``The mayor has certainly stated his preference for chief of police,'' said Councilman Mike Feuer. ``I think that the reality is that it's going to be very hard for someone from the outside to break through.'' Still, some officials say the blue-ribbon committee's decision to include five Latinos among the finalists throws a new wrinkle into the picture, putting pressure on Riordan to give serious consideration to candidates who represent the city's large Latino population. ``This is a development that is too important to ignore,'' one high-level city official said. ``It sends the signal that the least the mayor can do is to seriously consider the candidates from what is the largest segment of the city's population.'' ``It's quite amazing,'' said one member of the screening committee. ``These are strong candidates. They have been highly recommended.'' The panel is scheduled to meet again July 9 to interview each of the contenders for 45 minutes and likely will send all seven names on to the Police Commission as finalists, sources say. The commission then plans to meet July 16-17 to interview each finalist for 90 minutes before recommending and ranking the top three contenders for Riordan. Councilman Marvin Braude Marvin Braude (August 11, 1920—December 7, 2005)served as Los Angeles City Councilman for the 11th district from 1965 to 1997. At various times Mr. Braude (pronounced BROW-dee) served as chair of the Finance and Revenue Committee, the Environmental Quality and Waste said he believes outsiders will get an equal chance at the job, especially if they mesh with the LAPD's movement toward reform and community-based policing. ``The rules of selection have been changed so that insiders don't have the tremendous advantage they have always had,'' Braude said. However, after five tumultuous years in which outsider Willie L. Williams Willie L. Williams (born 1 October, 1943) was chief of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) from 1992 to 1997, taking over after chief Daryl Gates' resignation following the 1992 Los Angeles riots. failed to win over a large segment of LAPD officers, many city officials expect Riordan to tap an insider for the job, with the odds-on favorite being Parks. ``That may be his personal wish, but that doesn't mean he can't change his mind,'' Braude said. Riordan denied that he has made up his mind who to appoint, as some of those close to him claim. ``People do a good job of reading my mind when I don't even know what's in it,'' Riordan said. The mayor also denied that race will be a consideration in his decision. ``I'm going to put color, race or sexual orientation sexual orientation n. The direction of one's sexual interest toward members of the same, opposite, or both sexes, especially a direction seen to be dictated by physiologic rather than sociologic forces. out of consideration,'' he said. Despite their disadvantage in coming from outside the LAPD, Baca, Venegas and Ortega have some of the qualities, including strong management skills, that some of Williams' critics claimed he lacked. In addition, the three are likely to strike a chord with Latino residents, who make up 40 percent of the city's population but have never seen a Latino as police chief. Venegas, the 48-year-old Sacramento police chief, was born in Mexico. A Vietnam veteran This article is about veterans of the Vietnam War. For the French psychedelic musical group, see Vietnam Veterans. Vietnam veteran is a phrase used to describe someone who served in the armed forces of participating countries during the Vietnam War. , he rose through the ranks of the Fresno Police Department The Fresno Police Department is responsible for policing the City of Fresno, California, in the United States. The Chief of Police as of May, 2007, is Jerry Dyer. The city experiences between 30 and 69 willful homicides in a typical year. to deputy chief before he took the job in the state capital in 1993. In Sacramento, Venegas has won praise for efforts to build partnerships between the police and the community, for pushing affirmative action affirmative action, in the United States, programs to overcome the effects of past societal discrimination by allocating jobs and resources to members of specific groups, such as minorities and women. and for getting money to improve police facilities and equipment. However, in an April survey, 230 of the department's 625 officers rated the department's performance a 5 on a scale of 1 to 10 and gave Venegas a 1.5 rating, according to The Sacramento Bee. Among the complaints cited by officers is that the department has remained understaffed under Venegas. Ortega has been chief of the Salt Lake City Police Department Salt Lake City Police Department The Salt Lake City Police department is headquartered in downtown Salt Lake City on 200 South and approximlately 330 East. History The Salt Lake City Police department was founded in ? High Profile Cases for five years, during which he has won praise for efforts to build partnerships between residents and the department through community-based policing programs focusing on Neighborhood Watch and graffiti. He also has won praise for promoting women, creating a citizens review board to review use-of-force cases involving police officers and forming a special unit to handle domestic violence cases. Ortega, who also served as chief of the Phoenix Police Department for 14 years, has generated criticism from some police officers for his harsh penalties for police misconduct. Baca, 55, was born and raised in East Los Angeles East Los Angeles, uninc. city (1990 pop. 126,379), Los Angeles co., S Calif., a residential suburb of Los Angeles, in an industrial area. It has a large Mexican-American population. There is a performing arts center and a cultural center. A junior college is there. . He placed third in the 1992 contest for LAPD chief, behind Parks and Williams. A 32-year veteran of the Sheriff's Department, he's currently a division chief, overseeing six sheriff's stations and 1,250 deputies protecting 550,000 residents in communities including Carson, Marina del Rey, Lennox and West Hollywood. Baca has been credited with innovative community-based policing programs, including the creation of more Neighborhood Watch programs and community advisory councils at each station. He also used neighborhood surveys and community meetings to determine how local stations can best serve the public. His previous experience has included commands over county jails and transportation policing. Baca's credentials include a doctorate in public administration from USC An abbreviation for U.S. Code. and current experience as a teacher at the University of La Verne The University of La Verne is a private university in La Verne, California (about 35 miles east of Los Angeles) with a main campus, seven satellite campuses throughout central and southern California, a law school, and two military regional campuses at Point Mugu Naval Air Station . MAKING THE CUT: Picking the Next LAPD Chief Four LAPD veterans and three outsiders remain in the search for L.A.'s next police chief. At least six of their names will be given to the Police Commission, which will recommend three to Mayor Richard Riordan. INSIDERS Commander Art Lopez Deputy Chief David Gascon Deputy Chief Mark Kroeker Deputy Chief Bernard Parks OUTSIDERS Lee Baca/L.A. Sheriff's division chief Ruben Ortega/ Police Chief, Salt Lake City Arturo Venegas/ Police Chief, Sacramento CAPTION(S): 7 Photos, box PHOTO (1 -- color) Commander Art Lopez (2 -- color) Deputy Chief David Gascon (3 -- color) Deputy Chief Mark Kroeker (4 -- color) Deputy Chief Bernard Parks (5 -- color) Lee Baca/L.A. Sheriff's division chief (6 -- color) Ruben Ortega/ Police Chief, Salt Lake City (7) Arturo Venegas/ Police Chief, Sacramento |
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