[img]2543|left|Scott Bixby||no_popup[/img]Re “Chief Bixby’s First and Next Task: Paperwork”
Explaining that he was in his 35th years with the Culver City Police Dept., interim chief Scott Bixby laughed heartily and said, “I was hired when I was 10 years old.”
With Don Pedersen’s departure, Mr. Bixby’s boyhood dream comes to fruition.
He never wanted to be anything but a police officer.
“When I was in kindergarten or the first grade, we were living in government housing over on Braddock Drive,” he said. “My father was in a veterans hospital, and I was attending Braddock Drive Elementary School.”
Mr. Bixby, 54, told a story related here last week. When a uniformed police officer visited his class, “he looked bigger than life to me, like a protector of people. I knew then when I grew up, I wanted to be exactly like him.
“I was one of those little kids who never changed his mind. I was actually an Explorer with the Culver City P.D. when I was 15 years old. So I really have been with the department one way or another for 40 years.”
A Single Focus
Not surprisingly, the new chief never as regretted his choice of careers, even though he has worked elsewhere around the city.
“Never,” Mr. Bixby said. “There was a time a few years ago – oh, gosh, it is a little-known fact, and I can’t remember the year, but I went from the Police Dept. to the Fire Dept. for a very short time. Then I came back to the Police Dept. I certainly don’t regret that, either.”
Away from the department, “I am a fanatic about golf,” said Mr. Bixby, who hopes to land the permanent appointment as chief, possibly as early as this spring. He will be found on the course, one not far from his backyard, at least twice a week.
Golfing appeals to Mr. Bixby because “it feels like a walk in the park. I love the scenery. Beautiful. Quiet. Beautiful green grass. The trees. It can be a real source of frustration, but it can be a lot of fun, too, especially the solitude. “I like getting out there early in the morning as the sun is coming up. It’s my favorite time of day.”
Alone with nature is rewarding, but Mr. Bixby thrives on sociability, too. “I have to beat least somewhat social, given the career I have chosen,” he said. “Here you have to be a people person.”
He derived the most satisfaction when he was working with the narcotics division, both as a sergeant and as a lieutenant before once again he left the Police Dept. for one more so-called outside foray.
Mr. Bixby spent six months around the corner at City Hall, as acting Chief Administrative Officer during the Jerry Fulwood era in 2005.
Now he is home to stay.
