He Is Passing All Tests
Through several preliminary visits and after working two weeks fulltime at the Police Station, Mr. Pedersen is turning out to be everything the give-a-chance officers have told their pals that he would be. Early returns agree that the new chief is at least close to being the straightest shooter in Culver City, and no one has found a character or style blemish worth mentioning.
A band of officers with hoped-for reform on their mind feel more confident daily about openly praising the strong, steady start by the South Bay native who is impressing the doubters with his savvy, his transparency and his open-faced honesty. No one publicly ever accused his two predecessors, Ted Cooke and John Montanio, of possessing gloriously upbeat personalities, which is what people are saying about Mr. Pedersen.
‘Nobody Should Notice’
“I want people in the community to feel comfortable telephoning the Police Dept.,” the chief told thefrontpageonline.com. The transition from Mr. Montanio’s tenure, which effectively ended last October, and Mr. Pedersen’s should only be noticeable internally, says the chief. “I don’t think anyone in the community will notice that there has been a change,” he said. “The job that I have seen our officers doing the last few days is exemplary. I hope the citizens out there recognize their efforts because they are doing a great job. I would hope this has been a seamless transition.”
Significantly, Mr. Pedersen knows he has not walked into a kindergarten where all the officers have souls the color of snow. A white-hot letter from an insider, which is crammed with accusations against important people and was mailed to the highest ranking officials in the city two weeks ago, appears to be getting a smattering of attention. No predictions are being made about its future. While the City Council was scheduled to talk about Officer Heidi Keyantash’s suit against former Mayor Albert Vera and the city in closed session on Monday night, the explosive letter, in a parallel sense, may also have been on some minds.
It Is a Matter of Style
After working for one chief who seemed imperious and one who seemed enigmatic, some officers were curious about Mr. Pedersen’s decision-making style. “My style is situational,” he said. “It depends on the issue we are dealing with. If we have a field situation requiring an immediate decision, I will make it, and I have no problem doing that. However, there are sergeants out there whom I trust to make the right decisions. The majority of decisions I make, I have time to make them. So I would prefer to gain consensus, to consult people who are going to be affected. That always has been my style, and it will always be my style. You need to have people on board when you go forward with these decisions. It’s better to get their input up front rather than asking for it later.”
“He is visible,” is the first assessment of the new chief from a number of officers, and Mr. Pedersen explains. “I don’t intend to stay in this office,” he said. “I will be out in the Police Dept., talking to people, involving them.”
Admiring a Football Coach
Away from the station, football and flying are two serious hobbies competing for his attention. “Flying became a passion early in my life,” he said. “I had a real fascination for the whole subject. Then I met someone who became my flight instructor, and that is what I worked for for a long time. I was very successful in the business. It just did not work out in the end.” Philosophically, he added that “things happen, I believe, for a reason.
“I would like to think I have had a positive impact on a lot of people during my law enforcement career.” The path from flight instructor to law enforcement turned out to be direct. “As a flight instructor” in the early 1980s, “I was teaching several Hawthorne police officers how to fly,” he said. “I would spend a lot of time with them, and I would go on ride-alongs with them. They encouraged me to pursue a career. At the time, my thinking was I could end up flying helicopters in law enforcement. That never happened, but it was on my mind. Law enforcement got in my blood, and (twenty-three years later) here I am today. With no regrets.”
A Pure Motivation
He has made a life in law enforcement, Mr. Pedersen says, “because it is about making a contribution. When you can go to work and positively impact people’s lives, that is really satisfying. I feel that way every day when I come to work.” These days, the police chief flies “very little.” “Someday,” he acknowledges, he may step up the pace.
Now, about the police chief’s sporting attraction. By way of mentioning a leader whom he admires and may pattern himself after, the chief said he is “a huge football fan. I think that Coach (Pete) Carroll at USC is quite a leader, among all the great ones and charismatic ones we have in Los Angeles. He knows how to motivate people. He knows how to achieve top results. From all I can tell about him, he is extremely upbeat. And he gets things done. He does it in a way that takes care of his people. He keeps them motivated.”
Postscript
If the Culver City gig does not work out for Mr. Pedersen, maybe Mr. Carroll would be interested in a career change.
