Charles Lloyd Beck (born June 27, 1953) is a retired police officer, formerly serving as the
Chief of the
Los Angeles Police Department
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-large ...
(LAPD) and subsequently as the
Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department
The following is a list of heads of the Chicago Police Department.
Currently the executive of the Chicago Police Department is referred to as a "Superintendent of Police". Preceding titles included High Constable, City Marshall, General Superint ...
. A veteran of the department with over four decades as an officer, he is known for commanding and rehabilitating the
Rampart Division after the
Rampart scandal
The Rampart scandal involved widespread police corruption in the Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums (CRASH) anti-gang unit of the Los Angeles Police Department's Rampart Division in the late 1990s. More than 70 police officers either as ...
; and for technology enhancements during his time as Chief of Detectives.
He agreed to be interim Superintendent of Police in Chicago in late 2019 while the city searches nationwide for a replacement for retiring Eddie Johnson.
Beck took the helm of the
Chicago Police Department on December 2, 2019 after Johnson was fired. On April 15, 2020, Beck stepped down and was replaced by former
Dallas Police Department Chief
David Brown, who had been nominated by Lightfoot to serve as permanent Superintendent.
After his retirement he rejoined the Reserve Corps as a Reserve Police Officer and is assigned to the Office Of The Chief Of Police.
Early life and education
Beck is a native of
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California.
Incorporate ...
. He attended
Mayfair High School
Mayfair High School is a middle and high school in the Bellflower Unified School District in the city of Lakewood, California. The school first opened in 1959. The student population is approximately 3616 in grades 7 through 12. Mayfair serves ...
in
Lakewood,
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
, and then the
California State University, Long Beach where he received a
B.A.
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...
in occupational studies-vocational arts.
His father, George, was also an LAPD policeman, retiring at the rank of deputy chief in 1980.
Career
Beck was appointed to the Los Angeles Police Department in March 1977 after serving two years with the Los Angeles Police Reserve Corps. As a patrol officer, his assignments included both the Rampart and
Hollywood divisions.
After promotion to sergeant in June 1984, Beck worked in the Department's
C.R.A.S.H.
The Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums (CRASH) was a specialized unit of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) tasked with combating street gang, gang-related crime between 1979 and 2000. The unit was established in the South Los Ang ...
program under then-chief,
Daryl Gates
Daryl Gates (born Darrel Francis Gates; August 30, 1926 – April 16, 2010) was the Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) from 1978 to 1992. His length of tenure in this position was second only to that of William H. Parker. As Chief ...
, in the 1980s and early 1990s.
Beck worked in the Department's Internal Affairs division as a sergeant and a lieutenant.
He was promoted to lieutenant in April 1993 and to captain in July 1999 (following that promotion he was initially assigned to Southeast Division, followed by terms as the Commanding Officer of Juvenile Division, Central Area and finally Rampart Area), and then commander in April 2005. In August 2006, he achieved the rank of deputy chief, the same rank that his father, a retired Los Angeles police officer, had attained. Upon that promotion, he assumed command of Operations-South Bureau. Beck went on to become Chief of Detectives, and implemented a number changes to the Detective Bureau, particularly in the use of technology (for which the Detective Bureau has overall responsibility for the entire LAPD). Beck was appointed Chief of Police in November 2009.
According to the ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
'', Beck was paid a salary of $297,000 in 2011.
During the
2013 manhunt of Christopher Dorner, eight Los Angeles police officers fired 103 rounds at two innocent women who were delivering newspapers; one woman, a 71-year-old, was shot twice in the back, and the other woman was injured by broken glass. Even though a commission found that the eight officers violated department policy, none were suspended or fired; Beck chose to allow the shooting officers to return to duty after undergoing additional training. In a settlement, the two women shot by police received $4.2 million from the City of Los Angeles; Beck described the shooting "a tragic misinterpretation" by police working under "incredible tension."
On April 17, 2015, California Attorney General
Kamala Harris
Kamala Devi Harris ( ; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who is the 49th vice president of the United States. She is the first female vice president and the highest-ranking female official in U.S. history, as well ...
announced a statewide program of anti-bias training for law enforcement officers. Beck said removing built-in bias among officers "is not something you get inoculated against once in your life and that’s it. This takes constant retraining, constant discussion." Beck and Harris had established a close working relationship. LAPD spokesman Josh Rubenstein stated that "Beck assigned a
security detail for US Senator Kamala Harris shortly before she was sworn into office in 2017, based on a threat assessment he believed to be credible."
On January 19, 2018, Beck announced his retirement later that year. On June 4 of that year, Mayor Garcetti announced that
Michel Moore
Michel Rey Moore (; born July 2, 1960) is an American police officer and Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) since 2018.
On June 4, 2018, he was appointed to the post by Eric Garcetti, Mayor of Los Angeles and was ratified by the L ...
would succeed him on June 27.
On November 8, 2019 Chicago's mayor,
Lori Lightfoot
Lori Elaine Lightfoot (born August 4, 1962) is an American attorney and politician serving since 2019 as the 56th mayor of Chicago. She is a member of the Democratic Party. Before becoming mayor, Lightfoot worked in private legal practice as ...
Beck as the city's interim superintendent, to commence upon the retirement of
incumbent
The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seeking re-ele ...
Eddie Johnson.
Lightfoot praised Beck and said he "stood firmly on the side of immigrant rights in the face of opposition related to Los Angeles' status as a
Sanctuary City, and its choices related to non-cooperation with federal immigration officials." Chicago will conduct a nationwide search for the permanent Superintendent. Beck declined a permanent position, and agreed to hold the Office for a few months.
On April 2, 2020, Beck was replaced by former
Dallas Police Department Chief
David Brown as Superintendent.
Personal life
Beck is known to be an avid
motocross
Motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. The sport evolved from motorcycle trials competitions held in the United Kingdom.
History
Motocross first evolved in Britain from motorcycle trials competiti ...
enthusiast, winning several awards in the sport, and is the current Police and Fire Motocross national champion.
His sister, Megan, was a
detective. His wife, Cindy, was a
narcotics
dog
The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Do ...
handler. Two of his children, Brandi and Martin, are LAPD officers. His daughter Megan is a Deputy Sheriff for LASD.
In 2016, Beck made a cameo appearance on ''
Real Housewives of Beverly Hills
''The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills'' (abbreviated ''RHOBH'') is an American reality television series which has been broadcast on Bravo since October 14, 2010. Developed as the sixth installment in ''The Real Housewives'' franchise, it has ...
'' when he ran into
Erika Jayne and her husband
Thomas Girardi while having lunch.
Trivia
Beck appeared in a cameo role as Police Chief in the music video ''When the Seasons Change'' by
Five Finger Death Punch
Five Finger Death Punch, also abbreviated as 5FDP or FFDP, is an American heavy metal band from Las Vegas, Nevada, formed in 2005. The band originally consisted of vocalist and keyboardist Ivan Moody, rhythm guitarist Zoltan Bathory, lead g ...
in 2018.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beck, Charles L.
1953 births
California State University, Long Beach alumni
Superintendents of the Chicago Police Department
Chiefs of the Los Angeles Police Department
Living people
People from Long Beach, California