Los Angeles Police Department

The City of Los Angeles Police Department, also known as the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), is the primary law enforcement agency of Los Angeles, California, United States. With 8,832 officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-largest municipal police department in the United States, after the New York City Police Department and the Chicago Police Department. The LAPD is headquartered at 100 West 1st Street in the Civic Center district. The department's organization and resources are complex, including 21 community stations (divisions) grouped in four bureaus under the Office of Operations; multiple divisions within the Detective Bureau under the Office of Special Operations; and specialized units such as the Metropolitan Division, Air Support Division, and Major Crimes Division under the Counterterrorism & Special Operations Bureau.

History

The first police force specific to Los Angeles was founded in 1853 as the Los Angeles Rangers, a volunteer force that assisted the existing Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD). The Rangers were soon succeeded by another volunteer force, the Los Angeles City Guards. Neither the Rangers nor the Guards were particularly efficient, and Los Angeles became known for its violence, gambling, and vice. The first paid force was created in 1869 when six officers were hired to serve under City Marshal William C. Warren. By 1900, under John M. Glass, there were 70 officers, one for every 1,500 people. In 1903, with the start of the Civil Service, this force was increased to 200. In 1910, LAPD Officer Alice Stebbins Wells became the first sworn female police officer in the United States. Officer Georgia Ann Robinson, hired in 1916, was the first African-American female police officer.
Severe corruption issues within the LAPD and the rest of the city government lasted until the 1940s. In 1933, the Reserve Unit was formed, tasked with crime suppression; it would later evolve into the Metropolitan Division. In 1946, the top-secret Gangster Squad was formed to combat the American Mafia and Los Angeles crime family. During World War II, under Clemence B. Horrall, the overall number of personnel was depleted by the demands of the military. Despite efforts to maintain numbers, the police could do little to control the 1943 Zoot Suit Riots. Horrall was replaced by retired United States Marine Corps general William A. Worton, who acted as interim chief until 1950, when William H. Parker succeeded him, serving until he died in 1966. Parker advocated police professionalism and autonomy from civilian administration. However, the Bloody Christmas scandal in 1951 led to calls for civilian accountability and an end to alleged police brutality. In 1965, under Parker, Officer John Nelson and then-Inspector Daryl Gates established the Metropolitan Division's Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) unit, the first such unit in American law enforcement, as well as the Special Investigation Section, a highly-secretive tactical stakeout unit. That same year, the Watts riots were sparked by police abuse.
In the 1970s and 1980s, street gangs became a growing issue in Los Angeles; in response, the LAPD established the Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums (CRASH) gang intelligence unit in 1979, conducting Operation Hammer in 1987. In the 1990s, corruption, and misconduct within the LAPD were revealed to the public: the 1991 Rodney King beating led to the 1992 Los Angeles riots, while the 1997 Rampart scandal led to the disbandment of CRASH. Also in 1997, outgunned LAPD officers in North Hollywood were locked into a lengthy shootout with heavily armed and armored bank robbers, prompting police armament upgrades across the United States. Throughout its existence, the LAPD absorbed numerous smaller police forces in Greater Los Angeles, including the LACMTA Police in 1997 and the Los Angeles General Services Police in 2012. The LAPD has made several attempts to absorb the Los Angeles Airport Police and Los Angeles Park Ranger Division, though all attempts failed or did not proceed, and no mergers have been made since 2012.

Status

The Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners, also known as the Police Commission, is a five-member civilian body that oversees the LAPD. The Chief of Police reports to the board and the rest of the department reports to the chief. The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) is an independent part of the LAPD that has oversight over the department's internal disciplinary process and reviews complaints of officer misconduct. It was created by the recommendation of the Christopher Commission and it is exempt from civil service and reports directly to the Board of Police Commissioners. The current Inspector General is Mark P. Smith, who was formerly the Constitutional Policing Advisor for the LASD. The OIG receives copies of every complaint filed against members of the LAPD as well as tracking specific cases along with any resultant litigation. The OIG also conducts audits on select investigations and conducts regular reviews of the disciplinary system to ensure fairness and equality. As well as overseeing the LAPD's disciplinary process, the Inspector General may undertake special investigations as directed by the Board of Police Commissioners.
The LAPD's Art Theft Detail "is the only full-time municipal law enforcement unit in the United States devoted to the investigation of art crimes." The longtime head and often sole member of the unit is Detective Don Hrycyk, who in 2014 was described as being a 40-year veteran of the department with twenty years as the only known full-time art detective in the United States. According to the LAPD, the unit has recovered over $121 million in stolen works since 1993. The Art Theft Detail is part of the Burglary Special Section of the Detective Bureau of the LAPD. The LAPD Cadet Program is the department's police explorer program. The program was formerly called the Explorer Program but was changed in 2009 after the police commission broke off its partnership with the Boy Scouts over policies barring homosexuals, atheists, and agnostics from being troop leaders. The cadet program shifted focus from an old explorer program that tried to guide members to a career in law enforcement, to a program that tries to give cadets a solid foundation in life and to help them prepare for careers by offering services such as tutoring and college scholarships. The cadets complete courses not only on law enforcement but also on citizenship, leadership, financial literacy and other different skill sets. Cadet's work positions include ride-alongs, crowd control, charity assistance, and working in stations. The cadet program has posts at all of the LAPD's regional divisions as well as specialized divisions including the Metropolitan Division and the Communications Division. As of 2014, there were 5,000 cadets.

Known Members

Commissioner Sharon Raydor	Police Chief William Pope	Police Chief Marcus Berringer	Police Chief Chuang Coleman	Assistant Chief Roy Phillips

Assistant Chief Leo Mason	Chief of Detectives Russel Taylor	Deputy Chief, Major Crimes Brenda Leigh Johnson	Deputy Chief Fritz Howard	Deputy Chief Winona "Winnie" Davis

Commander, I.A. Percy West	Commander, SWAT Robert Hicks

Field Command

Captain Anthony Pacheco	Captain Claudette Wyms	Captain Thomas Gregson	Captain Cedric Daniels	Captain Frank Tripp

Lieutenant, I.A. Jon Kavanaugh	Lieutenant Lou Hacket	Lieutenant Paul Carson	Lieutenant Victor Northrup	Lieutenant Grace Billets

Lieutenant Charles Cooper	Lieutenant Alysia Pine	Lieutenant Ryan Caradine

Detectives

Detective Aahna Ashina	Detective Debra Luv	Detective Brandon Ikeda	Detective Chet Fargas	Detective Eddie

Detective Holland Wagenbach	Detective Mac Brundo	Detective Roy Garney	Detective Matthew Sykes	Detective Matt Parkman

Detective Mike Harrigan	Detective Reginald Grey	Detective Julien Lowe	Detective Nick Armstrong	Detective Nyla Harper

Detective Alicia Fernandez	Detective Gilbert "Gil" Puente	Detective Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch	Detective Josie Ochoa	Detective Keith Graham

Detective Lydia Adams	Detective Renée Ballard	Detective Russel Clarke	Detective Santiago Robertson	Detective Tavon Garris

Detective Rene Cordero	Detective Sammy Byrant

Strike Team

The Strike Team is an anti-crime unit working out of the Barn in Farmington. The team was created to help control the rising problem of gangs in the area. The Strike Team was originally formed by Assistant Chief Ben Gilroy as an experiment to fight crime in Farmington. The team started working the same day the Barn began operations. Originally, the team consisted of four members. Despite a bad reputation, Detective Vic Mackey was chosen as the team leader by Gilroy, who had to pull some favors with the Chief of Police to have Mackey approved. Due to Mackey's reputation, the Chief of Police demanded immediate results from the Strike Team. Gilroy made Mackey aware of the situation, which eventually prompted the team to take illegal actions as the means to make important arrests and warrant the existence of the team. During their first case, they went after a rising drug lord called Lionel Phipps. After being unable to capture him, and under the expectation of results, they used small-time drug dealer Rondell Robinson testified against Lionel, his boss, so they could arrest him.

Detective, Leader Vic Mackey	Detective Shane Vendrell	Detective Curtis Lemansky	Detective Ronnie Gardocki

Major Crimes Division

The Major Crimes Division started out as the Priority Murder Squad (PMS), answering to Captain Russell Taylor of the Robbery-Homicide Division (RHD). After Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson took command of the squad it was placed under the direct supervision of the Assistant Chief of Operations and quickly renamed as the Priority Homicide Division (PHD) because of the negative connotation of the abbreviation. Immediately after PHD was disbanded, the Major Crimes Division was created under Chief Johnson's command. At this time, Johnson was able to dictate the "new" division's investigative responsibilities to a reporter (the same one who published the damaging article about PHD in the first place), much to the chagrin of Chief Pope and Commander Taylor who were also present. Pope and Taylor obviously did not expect Johnson to be so brash in her desire to expand her division, but they couldn't stop her from making the statement in front of the reporter either, having just promised the reporter that the LAPD would make "real changes" because of his scathing article.

Lieutenant Louie Provenza	Lieutenant Andrew Flynn	Lieutenant Michael Tao	Sergeant David Gabriel	Detective Amy Sykes

Detective Buzz Watson	Detective Camila Paige	Detective Wes Nolan

Officers

Lieutenant, Patrol Wade Grey	Sergeant, Patrol Tim Bradford	Officer Bucky Bleichert	Officer Danielle Sofer	Officer Kate Lockley

Officer Gable	Officer Aaron Thorsen	Officer Angela Lopez	Officer Celina Juarez	Officer Jackson West

Officer John Nolan	Officer Lucy Chen	Officer Miles Penn	Officer Reina Vasquez	Officer Talia Bishop

Officer Connor Craig	Officer Doug Stanton	Officer Jan Janssen	Officer Ben Sherman	Officer John Cooper

Officer Kate Simmons	Officer Liz Diamond	Officer Madeline Bosch	Officer Quigley Smitty	Officer Tim Gilliam

Officer Bill Dudek	Officer Jessica Tang	Officer Chickie Brown

S.W.A.T. Team

SWAT units are generally trained, equipped, and deployed to resolve "high-risk situations", often those regular police units are not trained or equipped to handle, such as shootouts, standoffs, raids, hostage-takings, and terrorism. SWAT units are equipped with specialized weapons and equipment not normally issued to regular police units, such as automatic firearms, high-caliber sniper rifles, stun grenades, body armor, ballistic shields, night-vision devices, and armored vehicles, among others. SWAT units are often trained in special tactics such as close-quarters combat, door breaching, crisis negotiation, and de-escalation.
A designated law enforcement team whose members are recruited, selected, trained, equipped and assigned to resolve critical incidents involving a threat to public safety which would otherwise exceed the capabilities of traditional law enforcement first responders and/or investigative units. The SWAT Team was re-organized in light of the Apocalypse Virus released in 2025. The main SWAT team has been retained, but the NYPD went out of its way to recruit former or current Special Forces to form the Alpha and Bravo teams, meant to handle superhuman crises alongside Code: Blue, while still operating within the main NYPD chain of command, as a sort of mid-point between Code: Blue's superior technology and conventional police tactics. The pilot project has caused some tension between both sides, but with a former SHIELD agent and servicemen acting as part of the force, the project has been maintained for reasons of public safety. The addition of a physician and scientist to the team to deal with biohazards and mental health issues has also yielded positive results.