Villaraigosa picks reformed anti-gang cop to be next LAPD chief

Just a few years ago, it would have been unimaginable for the mayor of Los Angeles to name someone from inside the long-troubled LAPD to lead the department. Tuesday, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa did just that. He chose Deputy Chief Charlie Beck – a reformed hard-driving anti-gang cop – to succeed Bill Bratton in what the mayor’s called his most important appointment.

The mayor made the announcement outside his official residence in Hancock Park.

"Today we begin a new chapter in the story of reform at the LAPD and we do so with Chief Charlie Beck at the helm," he said.

Fifty-six-year-old Beck joined the LAPD in 1977.

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Within a decade, he became a sergeant in what the mayor’s own press release called the “notorious” anti-gang CRASH unit in South L.A. Notorious because it practiced a paramilitary style of policing that sometimes crossed the line into harassment and excessive force against blacks and Latinos.

Beck conceded that he once embraced the LAPD’s old culture.

"My philosophy in policing has changed immensely over the last 32 years," Beck said. "I was a product of my environment, a product of my training, a product of my time."

But Beck said that time has long passed. "We realized the fallacies of that style of policing."

Beck said he learned how that style alienated people, contributed to the 1992 riots that followed the Rodney King beating, and did little to address skyrocketing crime at the time. He said he came to believe in former Chief Bratton’s community-friendly policing model.

As chief, he’d like to persuade more rank-and-file officers to buy into it, too.

"To drive that change down, from the top levels of the police administration building down to the black and whites that come to the door when you call the police."

Under Bratton, Beck rose from captain to commander to deputy chief. Civil rights attorney and KPCC board member Connie Rice, who once sued Beck for his alleged role in excessive force, said it’s clear he’s changed.

"If you look at every single command that he's had, it’s how he's done it that's made the difference," Rice said. She said he did so "by spending time in the community, by winning the community trust, and then by collaborating."

The president of the union that represents rank-and-file LAPD cops also praised Beck as an “excellent selection” for chief. Paul Weber noted Beck’s “deep roots” in the LAPD and said the union’s confident he’ll be responsive to officers’ needs.

Police Commission President John Mack said he couldn’t think of anyone better to spread reform throughout the LAPD than a man officers regard as one of them.

"He enjoys a tremendous support from the rank-and-file within LAPD," Mack said. "Because he has credibility I think that's where he can really, really institutionalize reform throughout the department."

For Beck, a native of Long Beach, the appointment to chief is an emotional high point of a family journey. His father is a retired LAPD deputy chief, who sat a few feet from Beck as he spoke.

"And through him and through my own service, I know the ghosts and the glory of this police department's past."

Aside from his wife, who’s a former L.A. County sheriff’s deputy, Beck’s about as LAPD blue as you get. His sister is a retired detective, his daughter is an officer, and his son is in the police academy.

Beck said his son could not attend the news conference announcing his appointment as chief because he had to study. Beck said his son is to graduate next month. "And that will be the first graduation that I preside over – if I'm confirmed by the City Council."

The president of the L.A. City Council said the council’s likely to confirm Beck within a few weeks.

After that, he’ll face enormous challenges beyond maintaining reforms at the department. Foremost is preserving the LAPD’s budget and its officer ranks as the city grapples with a continuing budget crisis.

Town hall meetings with the mayor and new police chief nominee:

Tues., Nov. 3
4:30 - 6 p.m.

Town Hall Meeting
EXPO Center
3980 South Menlo Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90037

* Doors open at 3:30 p.m.

Wed., Nov. 4
6 - 7 p.m.

Town Hall Meeting
Van Nuys City Hall
14410 Sylvan St.
Van Nuys, CA 91401

*Doors open at 5 p.m.

Thur., Nov. 5
6 - 7:30 p.m.

Town Hall Meeting
El Sereno Senior Center
4818 Klamath Place
Los Angeles, CA 90032

*Doors open at 5 p.m.