New Faces
The Weekly’s head count of the 48 folks who want to be your next sheriff
What’s that? You didn’t apply to become the next sheriff of Orange County? Why the hell not? Think about it: You’d get 4,000 happy-to-obey employees; an $800 million annual budget; and cars, trucks, motorcycles, planes, boats, helicopters, weapons, spy equipment galore, bodyguards and White House invitations. Did I mention the $200,000-per-year pay, the chick-magnet outfit with the cool badge, a pension designed for a god, taxpayer-paid $500-per-night hotel rooms and a stampede of new best friends?
Sure, being sheriff isn’t all fun, especially if you’re a twisted soul. Ask Mike Carona. His reign was more like that of a slick, egomaniacal Third World dictator than that of a cop—until FBI and IRS agents indicted him, his wife, his top mistress, two assistants and a drinking buddy last year on public corruption charges. In January, he resigned to focus on his upcoming trial. Now, the county’s Board of Supervisors seek to hire someone to serve the remaining two years of the ex-sheriff’s term.
Who will they choose? Will they set aside cheap political considerations and go for competence? Will their choice restore much-needed dignity to the fine men and women of California’s second-largest sheriff’s department?
You didn’t step up, but 48 brave souls did. And what a cast of characters they are: pole-dancing cop, ex-Secret Service agent, electrician’s assistant, Homeland Security spook, lottery commissioner, social director, liquor-store owner, claims adjuster, telemarketer, shopping-mall security guard, salesmen, lots of retired folk, street cops, police chiefs, assistant sheriffs and a high-school English teacher.
Obviously, not all of them have a chance. A consultant recommended nine candidates (designated with double asterisks). Supervisors on Tuesday decided to interview these nine, but they could still add names to the list before the public interviews, which are scheduled for May 27. (Though none have indicated he or she would want to add to the list, I have a few suggestions for the board, indicated by single asterisks, just in case.)
Given our Carona nightmare, you might guess that all of the replacement candidates would be models of propriety—people who wouldn’t cry fake tears for television-news cameras, accept bribes, reward misconduct, value personal loyalty over skill in promotions, lie about their mothers, party with hoodlums, convert government vehicles into mobile sex pads, threaten political enemies, send risqué birthday cards to the wives of subordinates, ignore public complaints, shamelessly waste taxpayer funds, socialize with hookers, break long-established agreements, use highly trained deputies for inconsequential personal errands and attempt to date the wives of criminal suspects. Indeed, some of the applicants are outstanding: mature, honest and accomplished. But others? Well . . .
Here, in no particular order, is our list of the good, the bad and the downright ugly:
* K. Brian London *
Residence: St. Didier au Mt. d’Or, France
Current job: Recently retired as executive director of France-based INTERPOL, the world’s largest police organization
Law-enforcement experience: Supervisory special agent for Homeland Security, White House liaison officer, U.S. Customs director, Secret Service agent, CIA investigator and California Highway Patrolman
OC connection: Lived in Irvine for five years while in the Secret Service
Education: Claremont McKenna College (undergraduate), Pepperdine University (graduate)
Notable: Holds U.S. Government Secret, Top Secret, SCI and Q security clearances
Quotable: “The Orange County Sheriff’s Department has always been one of the best in my mind. Who wouldn’t want to be in charge of such an organization? The only thing to do is to make it even better.”
* * Ralph W. Martin * *
Residence: Coto de Caza
Current job: Los Angeles County sheriff’s commander
Number of employees supervised: More than 2,000
Law-enforcement experience: Began with the sheriff’s department in 1973 and rose through the ranks
Education: Cal State Los Angeles (undergraduate), Pepperdine University (graduate)
Notable: Challenged Carona in the 2006 election, oversees highly acclaimed police activity for one of the nation’s toughest gang regions
Quotable: More than a year before Carona’s FBI indictment, Martin blasted our sheriff’s ties to unsavory characters: “We can’t allow our law-enforcement personnel to be associated with known criminals.”
– Harold N. (Hal) Barker –
Residence: Camino
Current job: Retired
Law-enforcement experience: Sheriff of El Dorado County from 1997 until he retired in 2003; chief of police for the city of Folsom and assistant sheriff of San Mateo County
Education: Cal State LA (undergraduate), USC (graduate)
Claim to fame: Appointed to the California Lottery Commission by Governor Gray Davis in 2000
Notable: Began law-enforcement career in 1958
Controversy: Accepted weapons from a businessman, and then failed to file accurate public-disclosure reports about the gifts
Quotable: “Shame on us. We made a mistake,” Barker said in 1999 after his deputies fired a shotgun and tear gas inside the El Dorado County Jail in an unannounced, late-night, alleged “training exercise” that terrorized sleeping inmates. “It scares the hell out of them.”
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– Robert H. Lewis Jr. –
Residence: Lake Elsinore
Current job: Unemployed after working three years as a social-development director and the previous five as an environmental-safety manager
Law-enforcement experience: 18 years as a police officer for an unspecified city
Education: University of Phoenix (undergraduate), Minot State University (graduate)
Quotable: “Advanced skill level as it relates to word processing.”
* * Beau Babka * *
Residence: Draper, Utah
Current job: Undersheriff of Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office
Law-enforcement experience: Served as police chief of South Salt Lake
Orange County connection: Babka and his wife were married and lived in Laguna Niguel.
Education: Weber State University (undergraduate), Brigham Young University (graduate)
Claim to fame: Performs an “Ask Beau” public-safety segment on a Salt Lake City radio show
Notable: Ran unsuccessfully for Congress as a Democrat in 2004 and took over a police force in South Salt Lake City that had been plagued by five officers who’d either groped a female motorist, committed theft, used cocaine or beaten a spouse
Quotable: “I’m very open to opening our ?police department to the scrutiny I think it probably deserves,” Babka said in 2006, regarding the scandals.
– James N. Speros –
Residence: British Columbia, Canada
Current job: Retired from San Francisco Police Department as a captain
Law-enforcement experience: Campus cop, patrol officer and special-operations commander for the Pentagon in Afghanistan
Education: San Francisco State University
Notable: Won 150 awards during his career
– Stacey L. Smith –
Residence: Chicago, Illinois
Current job: Patrol sergeant
Law-enforcement experience: 10 years with the Chicago Police Department in various capacities, including narcotics and gang suppression, plus management over beat, desk and tactical officers
Education: Calumet College of St. Joseph (undergraduate and graduate)
Claim to fame: Recently delivered a baby while on duty
Notable: Worked full-time, raised four young children, attended college for a master’s degree and regularly worked out at a fitness pole-dancing gym
Quotable: “I don’t have a whole lot of time to be feminine,” Smith told a reporter last year. “This [exotic pole dancing] kind of helps to get your sensuality back, not to mention physical fitness.”
– Erik P. Mansoor –
Residence: San Clemente
Current job: Orange County deputy sheriff
Law-enforcement experience: Animal Control officer, Garden Grove patrol cop, deputy marshal and insurance investigator
Education: Orange Coast College (AA)
Claim to fame: Owner of Small Fortunes, an Internet retail shop that sells Smokey Bear and Woodsy Owl products
Quotable: “Business as usual got us into this mess, and business as usual will keep us there.”
* * Sandra Hutchens * *
Residence: Dana Point
Current job: Retired
Law-enforcement experience: Began as a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy in 1978, rose through the ranks, and from 2003 to 2007, served as division chief for Homeland Security
Education: University of La Verne
Claim to fame: Coordinated Homeland Security Advisory Council in LA County
Notable: Trained Russian police in hate-crime prevention and investigations
– Frederick T. Brink –
Residence: Madison, Michigan
Current job: Special agent in charge for the FBI’s Mississippi offices
Law-enforcement experience: More than two decades with the FBI in Virginia, Hawaii, New York, Florida and Saudi Arabia
Education: United States Naval Academy (undergraduate), Rutgers University (graduate)
Claim to fame: Served as personal representative of the FBI director to the nations of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Oman
Notable: Considered an expert in foreign counterintelligence and terrorism
Quotable: “It’s never easy to investigate one of your own. However, public-corruption investigations remain a top priority,” Brink said earlier this year, after his probe nailed a Mississippi assistant police chief and another cop for repeatedly ordering a police dog to maul a suspect, and then attempting a cover-up.
– Kenneth R. Ramsey Sr. –
Residence: Batavia, Illinois
Current job: Regional coordinator at the Mid-State Organized Crime Information Center
Law-enforcement experience: Sheriff of Kane County (Illinois) from 1978 to 2006, Pentagon counterintelligence task force from 1983 to 1989
Education: National-Louis University
Claim to fame: Served as a counterintelligence agent during the Vietnam War
Notable: The Chicago Tribune once described Ramsey as a “fiercely independent” lawman known for a secretive style.
– Gerald E. Mines –
Residence: Oakland Gardens, New York
Current job: Police-procedures expert and consultant
Law-enforcement experience: Parlayed a four-year stint as a New York City Police Department captain into a job as police commissioner in Mount Vernon, New York, in 2006
Education: John Jay College of Criminal Justice (undergraduate), New England College (graduate)
Claim to fame: Rescued people during the World Trade Center attacks
Notable: Applied in 2007 to become police chief on the Hawaiian island of Kauai
– Kenneth C. Whisman –
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Residence: Westfield, Indiana
Current job: Superior Court office manager
Number of employees supervised: Six
Law-enforcement experience: 24 years as a deputy sheriff
Education: Indiana University (undergraduate), Indiana Wesleyan University (graduate)
Notable: Helped investigate the infamous “gay slayings” murder mystery that plagued Indiana and Ohio during the 1980s and ’90s
– Nicholas John Paros –
Residence: Bel Air, Maryland
Current job: Owner of a Baltimore, Maryland, liquor store
Law-enforcement experience: From 1983 to 2006, Paros rose through the ranks of the Maryland State Police, eventually serving in a command position before launching a high-volume liquor store.
Education: Loch Raven Senior High School (Maryland)
Claim to fame: Won governor’s assignment to facilitate a merger between the Maryland Park Rangers and the Maryland Natural Resources Police
Controversy: Paros’ liquor store filed for bankruptcy protection in April.
– Jay O. Coons –
Residence: Houston, Texas
Current job: Captain of the Harris County (Texas) Sheriff’s Department
Law-enforcement experience: Began as a deputy in 1982 and has since served on several teams, including the bomb squad, patrol and the emergency-response team
Education: Sam Houston State University (graduate)
Claim to fame: Wrote Absent Malice: A Study of Inmate Mortality in Three Large U.S. County Jails
Notable: Served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1975 to 1979; in 2005, sought the police chief’s job in Richmond
Controversy: For a master’s thesis, Coons studied his department’s promotions system and found evidence of systematic employment discrimination against minorities.
– Kevin R.C. Bellamy –
Residence: Southern California (applicant did not state city or county on résumé)
Current job: Insurance-company claims investigator
Law-enforcement experience: Private security guard at a military base and a shopping mall, as well as chief of police in New Berlin, New York
Education: Detective Training Institute
Notable: Owned a business that provided executive protection
* Kevin E. Walsh *
Residence: Syracuse, New York
Current job: Sheriff of Onondaga County, New York
Education: State University of New York at Oswego (undergraduate and graduate)
OC connection: Daughter and grandkids live in Fountain Valley
Controversy: Won his first race for sheriff after his opponent, a Syracuse police chief, was caught accepting a $50,000 bribe behind a Burger King in the final weeks of the campaign
Side job: President of the local school board
Notable: Because problem deputies were getting paid to stay home until cases were resolved, Walsh created a “detention,” in which these officers report to a video-monitored room and spend eight hours a day reading the department’s manual.
Quotable: “The Orange County Sheriff’s Department has a black eye right now, so I think a key is to restore integrity from the top down.”
* * Paul M. Walters * *
Residence: Tustin
Current job: Police chief of Santa Ana
Law-enforcement experience: 37 years of police work
Education: Cal State Fullerton (undergraduate), University of Southern California (graduate)
Claim to fame: Given widespread public kudos for running a decent jail and saw his department named a “national model” by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (2005-2006)
Notable: Served a four-year stint in the Air Force during the Vietnam War
– Joseph F. McGinn –
Residence: Media, Pennsylvania
Current job: Sheriff of Delaware County, Pennsylvania
Number of employees supervised: 85
Education: Temple University (undergraduate), Cheyney University (graduate)
– Robert G. Alcaraz –
Residence: Newport Coast
Current job: Security consultant for law-enforcement agencies
Law-enforcement experience: Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy from 1973 to 2002, with experience in Homeland Security, jails, employee-support services, risk management and patrol
Education: El Rancho High School in Pico Rivera
Claim to fame: Alternate member of the Orange County Republican Central Committee
Notable: Ran against Carona in the 2006 election but dropped out of the campaign weeks before voting
– Elias A. Voulgaris –
Residence: Chicago, Illinois
Current job: Captain in the Chicago Police Department
Law-enforcement experience: Began career in 1982 as a Cook County deputy
Education: Lewis University (undergraduate), Illinois Institute of Technology (graduate)
Claim to fame: An expert in narcotics and gang suppression activity
Notable: Won Democratic National Convention Special Service Award
– Timothy P. Ryan –
Residence: Miami, Florida
Current job: Director of the Miami-Dade County Corrections and Rehabilitation Department
Number of employees supervised: 2,803
Law-enforcement experience: Alameda County sheriff’s deputy from 1970 to 1998, chief of the Santa Clara County Department of Corrections from 1998 to 2002, Chief of the Orange County (Florida) Corrections Department from 2002 to 2006
Controversy: Received hostile reaction from the police union when he enacted an employee-appearance policy that asked deputies to decorate no more than one tooth with artwork
Notable: Graduated from Harvard University’s JFK School of Government
* * Craig A. Hunter * *
Residence: Yorba Linda
Current job: Deputy chief of police in Anaheim
Number of employees supervised: 674
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Law-enforcement experience: Worked every imaginable police job for the city
Education: Bellevue University (undergraduate), Chapman University (graduate)
Notable: Referees high-school and college football games
Controversy: Supervised Anaheim’s gang unit during a period in the 1990s when Steve Nolan, a whistleblower cop, gave evidence that the unit routinely beat handcuffed Latino suspects and falsified crime reports
– Dave Galich –
Residence: Huntington Beach
Current job: Telemarketing district manager
Law-enforcement experience: None, but served as president of the Cal Gun Club in college
Education: University of California at Berkeley
Claim to fame: President of the Berkeley College Republicans in 2003
* Daniel J. Martini *
Residence: San Clemente
Current job: Carona’s last mischievous act in office last January was to fire assistant sheriff Martini.
Law-enforcement experience: You name it, he’s done it in the department during the past 33 years, including serving as police chief for Dana Point and San Juan Capistrano.
Education: San Diego State University (undergraduate), Cal State University Dominguez Hills (graduate)
Claim to fame: Besides being considered by insiders as one of the finest deputies in the history of the department, Martini was instrumental in recently creating highly touted, new training facilities.
Notable: Served in the U.S. Navy from 1968 to 1972, won numerous law-enforcement performance/creativity awards
Quotable: “We need to change the department’s culture. We need to put pride back into our uniform.”
– Timothy W. Tunson –
Residence: Bakersfield
Current job: Chief of police in Arvin
Number of employees supervised: 26
Law-enforcement experience: Served as interim chief and chief, respectively, at police departments in South Gate and Calexico, worked as a deputy in Riverside and Orange counties
OC connection: Lived in Santa Ana as a youngster
Claim to fame: Gave two fantastic job interviews for top-cop jobs on prior occasions, only to be dismissed as a candidate after background checks discovered negative personal information, including being fired as Coachella’s police chief
Quotable: “In the Army, they teach you to always look ahead.”
– Timothy C. Alexander –
Residence: Mays Landing, New Jersey
Current job: Lieutenant/commander in the Atlantic County (New Jersey) prosecutor’s office
Law-enforcement experience: Has worked in the prosecutor’s office since 1998
Education: Drexel University (undergraduate)
Notable: A motivational coach
* * Randy G. Adams * *
Residence: Glendale
Current job: Police chief of Glendale
Orange County connection: Relatives live here
Law-enforcement experience: 35 years
Education: Cal State Los Angeles (undergraduate), Cal Lutheran University and Cal Poly Pomona (graduate)
Notable: Said 24 star Kiefer Sutherland would get no special treatment serving a DUI sentence in his jail
Quotable: “The public in this community wants a police chief that will take a stand on things that he believes is right,” Adams said, regarding a controversy he sparked in 2004 by publicly endorsing a commercial real-estate development project.
– Ion Petrinca –
Residence: Garden Grove
Current job: Electrician’s assistant
Law-enforcement experience: None, but served for four years as a private first class in the U.S. Army reserves
Education: Santa Ana College (AA)
Claim to fame: U.S. Forest Service firefighter in Trabuco Canyon in 2005
Quotable: “I have strong composure under stressful conditions.”
– Robert T. Peppler –
Residence: Fairfax, Virginia
Current job: Assistant director of the Office of Counter Narcotics Enforcement at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Law-enforcement experience: Before leaving for Washington, D.C., in 2005, Peppler worked at the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department for 27 years—rising to the rank of undersheriff.
Education: San Bernardino Valley College (AA)
Claim to fame: Wife Susan was mayor of Redlands
Notable: Managed the Drug-Terror Division of his Homeland Security office, which tracks the ties between drug trafficking and terrorists
– Kevin M. Keyes –
Residence: Turtle Rock
Current job: Director of international operations for Phoenix Software International
Law-enforcement experience: President of his homeowners’ association
Education: University of London, England
Claim to fame: Given business presentations at the University of Southern California
Notable: Served as an engineer on a submarine in the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Fleet
* * William J. “Bill” Hunt * *
Residence: San Clemente
Current job: Owner of a private security company
Law-enforcement experience: Orange County sheriff’s designated police chief of San Clemente from 2002 to 2006, after nearly 22 years of serving in a variety of capacities—SWAT, jails, undercover operations—as a deputy
Education: University of Redlands (undergraduate), Cal State Dominguez Hills (graduate)
Claim to fame: Questioned Carona’s ethics, ran against him in 2006, got the second-highest number of votes and was essentially fired by Carona in retaliation
Notable: Endorsed by the Orange County deputies’ union.
– Donald Teti Sr. –
Residence: North Las Vegas, Nevada
Current job: Police officer
Law-enforcement experience: Corporate safety officer, court deputy, parks and wetlands cop
Education: El Dorado High School (Nevada)
Claim to fame: Has “verbal Judo skills” and is Medal of Honor/Medal of Valor recipient for police work
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Notable: Also applied this year to be chief of police in Odessa, Texas
– Patrick J. Lynch –
Residence: Royal Palm Beach, Florida
Current job: Deputy sheriff
Law-enforcement experience: Began as a Palm Beach (Florida) cop in 1974, before joining the sheriff’s department in 1977 and working in numerous capacities, including SWAT and covert operations
Education: University of Maryland (undergraduate), Florida Atlantic University (graduate)
Claim to fame: Created the Homeland Security Division at his agency
Notable: Won numerous awards for his disaster-assistance work
Controversy: Received a five-day suspension in 2003 and a demotion for arriving to work with alcohol on his breath after a police anti-terrorism conference
* * Richard Beemer * *
Residence: San Bernardino
Current job: Undersheriff
Law-enforcement experience: Since 1973, has risen through the ranks of the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department
Education: Cal State San Bernardino
Notable: Earned a Bronze Star and Purple Heart serving in the Vietnam War
Quotable: “The public’s faith in the ability of the police to police themselves is a key element in a strong democratic society,” Beemer said last year, regarding a cop who shot an unarmed member of the U.S. military who was home after service in Iraq.
– Douglas R. McPherson –
Residence: Rockford, Illinois
Current job: Chief deputy coroner for Winnebago County (Illinois)
Law-enforcement experience: More than a decade as a deputy sheriff, cop and crime-scene investigator
Education: unknown
Claim to fame: President of the Winnebago County Fraternal Order of Police
– Elwin E. Cooke –
Residence: Culver City
Current job: Retired
Law-enforcement experience: Chief of police of Culver City, officer in LAPD
Education: UCLA (undergraduate), University of La Verne (graduate)
Claim to fame: Served on the California Commission on Civil Rights as well as three other state boards
Notable: Once voted Law Enforcement Professional of the Year by the California Peace Officer’s Association
– Roderick E. Fletcher –
Residence: Quartz Hill
Current job: Compliance-support assistant at Internal Revenue Service criminal division
Law-enforcement experience: Has worked at the IRS since 1991
Education: Antelope Valley College
Claim to fame: Won 14 consecutive years’ worth of performance awards at the IRS
– Alan Dale Hamilton –
Residence: Southern Shores, North Carolina
Current job: Retired
Law-enforcement experience: Police chief of the town of Duck (North Carolina) from 2003 to 2007
Education: Southern Wesleyan University
Claim to fame: Awarded the Order of ?the Kentucky Colonel in 1991
Notable: Coaches middle-school football
– Richard L. Osborne Sr. –
Residence: Middlefield, Ohio
Current job: Director of administration in Tallmadge, Ohio
Number of employees supervised: 200
Law-enforcement experience: From 1971 to 1996, worked as a patrol officer, sergeant and criminal-investigations commander; served in the U.S. Army as a reservist
Education: Malone College (undergraduate)
Claim to fame: Negotiated a 25 percent reduction in city water rates
– David M. Singer –
Residence: Anaheim
Current job: Police chief of Whittier
Law-enforcement experience: Worked as police chief, deputy chief, detective and sergeant for the Signal Hill Police Department
Education: Cal State Long Beach (undergraduate and graduate)
Notable: Chaired LA IMPACT, a Los Angeles County narcotics task force
Claim to fame: Aggressively spearheaded anti-gang efforts in his city, alarming a segment of Latino citizens
Controversy: A female cop claimed numerous cases of sexual harassment at Singer’s Whittier department and won a $1.25 million judgment in 2005.
Quotable: “When you hear about [sexual harassment], you can usually point to one thing and say, ‘They really made a mistake here,’” Singer told a reporter. “But I didn’t see that here.”
* * Jack Anderson * *
Residence: Mission Viejo
Current job: Acting sheriff of Orange County
Law-enforcement experience: Rose through the ranks of the sheriff’s department beginning in 1986, served as a military policeman from 1979 to 1982
Education: Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (undergraduate)
Claim to fame: Became acting sheriff when Carona, indicted by the FBI, quit in January
Notable: Immediately began instituting reforms and reprimanding unethical and lazy deputies
Nice touch: Could have moved into Carona’s old executive office but said its next occupant should be the person who wins the interim appointment
Quote: “It’s time for dignity, honor and respect to be restored to this office.”
– Michael Greg Dettinger –
Residence: Manti, Utah
Current job: High-school English and Spanish teacher, part-time video-production business owner
Law-enforcement experience: None
Education: Cal State San Bernardino (undergraduate), Brigham Young University (graduate)
Claim to fame: Sanpete County commissioner from 2001 to 2004.
Notable: Who’s Who Among American High School Teachers in 1994 and 1996
– Joseph Fucito –
Residence: Bronx, New York
Current job: Undersheriff of New York City
Law-enforcement experience: With the sheriff’s office since 1988, after a two-year clerkship at the FBI
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Education: Queens College (New York)
Notable: Led a team that busted a million-dollar bootleg Nike and Yankees headgear operation in 2003
– Terry Hart –
Residence: Los Angeles
Current job: Retired
Law-enforcement experience: 28 years of law-enforcement work, most of it in patrol for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department
Education: Unknown
Claim to fame: A black belt in Yoshinkan Aikido
Controversy: In 1991, Hart shot a suspect in Stanton four times, including twice in the back.
Notable: Owner of Tactical Training Institute
– Joseph P. Grebmeier –
Residence: King City
Current job: Chief of police for Greenfield Police Department
Number of employees supervised: 21
Law-enforcement experience: Began working as a deputy in 1977 and eventually spent 16 years as high-ranking officer in the Monterey County Sheriff’s Department
Education: San Jose State University (undergraduate); Cal State Polytechnic University at Pomona (graduate)
– Herman L. Kaskowitz –
Residence: Yorba Linda
Current job: Watch commander at LAPD
Law-enforcement experience: Served as command sergeant major in the Army, treasury agent, customs agent, IRS agent and Alcohol Beverage Control agent
Education: Cal State Los Angeles
Notable: Awarded 97 commendations during his 36 years at LAPD
– Jonathan W. Arnold –
Residence: Lake Forest
Current job: Vice president of sales for Mobile Specialty Vehicles Inc.
Law-enforcement experience: 30 years with the Huntington Beach Police Department
Education: Cal State Polytechnic University at Pomona (undergraduate), Cal State Long Beach (graduate)
Notable: Once named Airborne Law Enforcement Association’s “Pilot of the Year”

CNN-featured investigative reporter R. Scott Moxley has won Journalist of the Year honors at the Los Angeles Press Club; been named Distinguished Journalist of the Year by the LA Society of Professional Journalists; obtained one of the last exclusive prison interviews with Charles Manson disciple Susan Atkins; won inclusion in Jeffrey Toobin’s The Best American Crime Reporting for his coverage of a white supremacist’s senseless murder of a beloved Vietnamese refugee; launched multi-year probes that resulted in the FBI arrests and convictions of the top three ranking members of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department; and gained praise from New York Times Magazine writers for his “herculean job” exposing entrenched Southern California law enforcement corruption.