The dedicated police car promised by West L.A. Captain Mike Chambers started patrolling Pacific Palisades yesterday. Chambers agreed to provide the vehicle, up to four days a week, after attending several heated community meetings in December and January in which residents demanded more police protection in the town. However, how long the two-officer patrol car will remain dedicated to the Palisades is already in question, given the news this week of Chambers’ impending transfer. After only 10 months on the job, Chambers, commanding head of the West L.A. police station, has been reassigned to the organized crime division downtown. Replacing Chambers is the current head of that division, Captain Vance Proctor. The move is expected to take place as early as next week. Whether the dedicated car will remain in the Palisades “will now have to be determined by Captain Proctor,” Chambers said. “I will certainly convey why I think there is a need for it, but it will be up to him on how to best deploy the resources of West L.A.” While West L.A. is the largest police division in Los Angeles, covering 65 square miles, it has one of the lowest crime rates in the city. Proctor said that while he had not yet had a chance to discuss any specifics with Chambers, he was aware of “the unique geography and isolation of the Palisades.” Besides the dedicated patrol car, Chambers had also assigned a second senior lead officer to the Palisades in January, an assignment that was short-lived. Barb Scallon is currently replacing “a senior lead who is on vacation in another area,” according to Senior Lead Officer Chris Ragsdale. Whether Scallon will again be deployed to the Palisades is also up in the air. Chambers said her assignment to the Palisades was always only meant to be “temporary,” based on her availability. Proctor, who lives in Ventura County, has been with the LAPD for 38 years. He is familiar with the West L.A. division, having served as patrol captain from 1988-90. He said he is looking forward to returning to what he described as a “diverse beat. Personally, I could not hope for a better posting.”
This page is available to subscribers. Click here to sign in or get access.
