LOS ANGELES — Charlie Beck, the son of a police officer whose own career with the Los Angeles Police Department spanned four decades, announced Friday that he will retire early, ending an eight-year tenure as police chief before finishing out the remainder of his second term.
Beck made the abrupt announcement, drawing gasps, during a press conference Friday with Mayor Eric Garcetti to discuss the city’s crime trends. He said he would step down in June.
Beck, 64, was sworn in as chief in 2009, an appointee of then-Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa who had the backing of the rank-and-file and civil rights advocates. It was the capstone of an unexpected career for Beck, who initially aspired to be a professional motocross racer before becoming a police officer.
Beck’s deep history with the LAPD — 40-plus years as an officer, two of his children and his father on the force — has influenced his often-paternalistic view of the department and its officers.
He joined the department during a strikingly different era of policing, becoming an officer just a year before Daryl F. Gates — a name that for many is synonymous with the LAPD’s hard-charging, racially charged past — was sworn in as chief. Beck’s career will end at a time when officers are expected to be guardians, not warriors, and police seek strong, trusting relationships with their communities.
Beck has witnessed some of the most defining moments in the LAPD’s past: the riots that erupted after the officers who beat Rodney King were acquitted, the Rampart Division corruption scandal, and the federal consent decree that followed.
As Beck rose through the ranks, he made his mark by rehabilitating the scandal-plagued Rampart Division and forging better relationships with residents as he oversaw officers in South L.A.
“I know the ghosts and the glory of this police department’s past,” he said when he was sworn in as chief. “There were failures, (times when) we did not rise up to our ability, we did not do what we should have done in some instances. Those are the ghosts. But the glory of the department is reflected in my father’s leadership, his ability to work with people and his ability to understand community policing before it was a popular concept.”
Beck inherited a daunting fiscal situation when he became chief, and earned respect as he guided the department through budget cuts that all but eliminated overtime cash and strained resources.
He has seen his own challenges as chief, however, including a stubborn uptick in crime that still lingers.
After a steady first term, Beck faced tough questions from police commissioners as they weighed his reappointment in 2014. On their list of concerns: his approval of the LAPD’s purchase of his daughter’s horse, and discipline of officers that many felt was inconsistent and too lenient.
Most recently, Beck has led the LAPD during another transformational moment in policing. Los Angeles has not been immune to the national outcry over how officers use force, particularly against black men. The city has seen protests over police shootings here and fierce criticism of the LAPD by some local members of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Like agencies across the country, the LAPD has worked to reduce shootings by officers through revamped training and policies, and rolled out new technology such as body cameras in hopes of building public trust.
It is unclear who will replace Beck as the city’s next police chief, a job he once said should not overshadow the LAPD as a whole.
“The faith has to be in the organization,” he said after his first year as chief. “The organization has to be bigger than any one person.”
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