Sheriff’s Official Is First Outsider to Seek LAPD Job

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Chief Lee D. Baca, one of the state’s highest-ranking Latinos in law enforcement, on Friday became the first candidate outside the Los Angeles Police Department to officially declare that he will apply for the chief’s job.

Baca, a high-ranking candidate for the LAPD chief’s job five years ago, said his experience and achievements at the Sheriff’s Department make him a strong contender for the job.

He said he is not deterred by reports that Mayor Richard Riordan appears to want an LAPD insider for the job and is leaning toward Deputy Chief Bernard Parks.

“I don’t consider myself an outsider,” he said. “I work in Los Angeles and know the issues and problems here. . . . At the Sheriff’s Department, we’ve done the very things that the Police Department is trying to do” in terms of reforms and other initiatives.

Baca’s announcement came as Assistant Chief Bayan Lewis was sworn in as the interim chief in a private ceremony and outgoing Chief Willie L. Williams made a public appearance to accept a community award.

Lewis will formally take over as chief Sunday when Williams officially steps down. Williams accepted a $375,000 severance package to leave his post early after the Police Commission in March denied him a second five-year term.

Five years ago, Baca earned the third-highest score in tests for replacing then-Chief Daryl F. Gates, ranking behind Williams and Parks. But he was bumped from the list of finalists by rules stating that outsider candidates must score higher than all LAPD candidates to become a finalist. Those rules no longer exist in the selection process.

This time, the Police Commission will present a list of three top candidates to the mayor for his selection. The mayor’s choice must then be approved by at least eight City Council members.

Although other outsiders have been mentioned as potential candidates, Baca is the first to state his intentions. Also said to be possible outside candidates are former New York Police Department Commissioner William Bratton and former LAPD Deputy Chiefs William Rathburn and Lawrence Fetters.

Within the department, Parks and Deputy Chiefs Mark Kroeker and David Gascon have stated their intentions to apply.

Times staff writer Tina Daunt contributed to this report.