PORT COPS IN WHOLE DIFFERENT SEA WORLD SMALL AGENCY LETS OFFICERS MOVE UP.

Byline: ART MARROQUIN

Staff Writer

A cool sea breeze provides some temporary relief from the summer sun's glaring heat as Los Angeles Port Police Officer Mark Velasquez looks for suspicious activity around Ports O' Call Village.

Velasquez's patrol in his department-issued cruiser is among his first since a friend convinced him to join the port's Police Department last month.

"We do all the typical duties of a law enforcement agency, but then we have the whole maritime aspect with boat patrols," said Velasquez, 34, a former city ranger who patrolled Griffith Park for eight years. "It's the ability to try different things and the opportunities of a growing department that drew me to the job."

Though the port police force has 103 officers, Chief Ronald Boyd said he hopes to double that number in about two years.

The recruitment effort is funded by the port's budget, and is separate from Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's plan to hike trash collection fees to hire 1,000 Los Angeles Police Department officers by 2009.

"I've been advocating for an increase in staff for a very long time, but we were lucky that the Harbor Commission wanted to be aggressive about hiring and setting an aggressive timeline," said Boyd, who was named the port's top cop nearly three years ago.

"We've been able to expand before, but never at this level and at these numbers," he said. "It's a nice gift."

Recruits looking to join the port Police Department are placed in 18-week academies operated by the Los Angeles Police Department or the county Sheriff's Department. After graduation, rookies are matched with training officers for about four months, rotating through a variety of foot, bicycle, car and boat patrols along the port.

Port police officers typically handle run-of-the-mill calls, including stolen vehicles, public drunkenness and fights, but once in a while a strange call will come in, according to Velasquez.

A few weeks ago, a Los Angeles Fire Department captain flagged down Velasquez and another officer to report that a man wearing a wetsuit was aboard a boat in a security-restricted area of the port near Berth 66.

"We rushed down there to see what he was up to, since our job is to secure the port," Velasquez said.

The rookie officer drove his department-issued cruiser down the street, spotted the man diving into the water and hunting lobsters with a spear. The man was immediately arrested.

"Luckily, he was just doing some illegal fishing," Velasquez said. "But sometimes you never know."

Port officials have launched a vigorous recruiting campaign by advertising in military publications, on Internet sites and airing a series of television and radio commercials, according to Boyd.

Some of the ads feature former Los Angeles Lakers center Shaquille O'Neil, who remains an honorary port police officer despite his defection to the Miami Heat.

"That's been quite helpful to us because people start calling within a few minutes after they see the ads," Boyd said.

One of the best things about working for a small department is the ability to quickly move up the chain of command or get placed into specialized units, according to Senior Lead Officer Ryan Mullany, who joined the force two years ago and serves as one of Velasquez's trainers.

Six months ago, Mullany was promoted to serve on the department's Marine Unit, a specialized group of officers that conduct security checks on cruise ships entering the port.

"There are definitely a lot of opportunities to move up quickly," Mullany said. "Besides, nothing beats working so close to the water."

art.marroquin(at)dailybreeze.com

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Photo:

Los Angeles Port Police officers Ryan Mullany, left, and Mark Velasquez chat with fishing net menders Jose Apoloni and Jaime Carrasco on their rounds. Mullany is a senior lead officer who has been with the department for two years, Velasquez only six weeks.

Brad Graverson/Staff Photographer