West Coast top cops makes their moves
By: Ken Garcia
Examiner Staff Writer
03/11/09 2:11 PM PDT
Industries throughout the country are being severly impacted by the current economic crisis. So why is it that law enforcement on the West Coast seems to be having an (open) field day?
The announcement this week that Seattle's Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske has been chosen to be the nation's new drug czar, means that three big cities in the West are in search of new department leaders and rumors that a fourth will soon join the fray have made it a resume-rich environment.
San Francisco's Police Chief Heather Fong is expected to step down at the end of next month, Oakland is searching for a new top cop and word making the rounds is that William Bratton, Los Angeles' much-ballyhooed chief may also be headed to Washington for a high-level spot in the Department of Homeland Security.
That means there may be many dominoes to fall. As reported here recently, two of of the names that have surfaced in connection with the San Francisco job are also from the West Coast - Santa Barbara's chief Cam Sanchez and Jim McDonnell, the highly-respected number two person at the LAPD.
It would be fair to say that search firms are busy and a lot of the same names are surfacing in all the cities. It's the law enforcement version of the usual suspects.
Kerlikowske still must win Senate approval to the post of director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. He shouldn't be handcuffed by the usual Beltway obstructions - he has a wealth of experience on drug policy and community policing.
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