William J. Bratton
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| William Joseph Bratton | |
|---|---|
 William J. Bratton |
|
| Born October 6, 1947 | |
| Nickname | Bill |
| Place of birth | Boston, Massachusetts |
| Years of service | Boston PD: 1970–1990, 1991–1994 NYC Transit PD: 1990–1991 NYPD: 1994–1996 LAPD: 2002–2009 |
| Rank | Chief of Police |
| Awards | Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire: awarded on Sept. 11, 2009 by Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom.[1] |
| William J. Bratton | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 6, 1947 Boston, Massachusetts |
| Residence | Los Feliz, Los Angeles, California |
| Occupation | Police Chief |
| Employer | City of Los Angeles |
| Title | Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department |
| Term | 2002–2009 |
| Predecessor | Martin H. Pomeroy |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Religious beliefs | Roman Catholic |
| Spouse(s) | Rikki Klieman, his fourth wife |
| Children | David Bratton |
William Joseph "Bill" Bratton CBE (born October 6, 1947) was the chief of police of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). He previously served as the New York City Police Commissioner and Boston Police Commissioner.
On September 11, 2009, he was awarded with the honorary title of Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II.[1] In early August 2009, Bratton unexpectedly announced that effective October 31, 2009, he would resign his position as Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department.
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[edit] Boston
Bratton is native to Boston, Massachusetts. He attended Boston Technical High School, graduating in 1965. From there, he served in the Military Police Corps of the United States Army during the Vietnam War, returning to Boston in 1970 to start a police career in the Boston Police Department. He quickly rose to the rank of lieutenant, and in 1980, at the age of 32 and ten years after his appointment to the BPD, Bratton was named as the youngest-ever Executive Superintendent of the Boston Police, the department's second highest post. He was dismissed as executive superintendent after he told a journalist that his goal was to be the Police Commissioner. He was reassigned to the position of Inspector of Bureaus, a sinecure which was responsible for liaison with minority and LGBTQ communities. He was later brought back into police headquarters to handle labor relations and 911 related issues.
Between 1983 and 1986 Bratton was Chief of Police for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, following which he became Superintendent of Boston's Metropolitan District Commission Police. In 1990, he was appointed Chief of Police of the New York City Transit Police. Bratton was Superintendent in Chief of the Boston Police Department from 1991 until 1993, then he became that city's 34th Police Commissioner. He holds the Department's highest award for valor.
[edit] New York City
In 1994, William Bratton was appointed the 38th Commissioner of the NYPD by Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani. He cooperated with Giuliani in putting the broken windows theory into practice. He had success in this position, and introduced the CompStat system of tracking crimes, which proved successful in reducing crime in New York City and is still used to this day. A new tax surcharge enabled the training and deployment of around 5,000 new better-educated police officers, police decision-making was devolved to precinct level, and a backlog of 50,000 unserved warrants was cleared. The CompStat real-time police intelligence computer system was effectively introduced and integrated. Police numbers were further boosted in 1995 when New York's housing and transit police were merged into the New York Police Department.
Bratton resigned in 1996 while under investigation by the Corporation Counsel for the propriety of a book deal that he signed while in office as well as accepting multiple unauthorized trips from corporations and individuals. Additionally, there were alleged personal conflicts with Giuliani, partly due to Giuliani's opposition to some of Bratton's reforms and partly due to Giuliani's belief that Bratton was getting more credit for the reduction in crime than Giuliani was. [2]
The experiences of Bratton and New York Deputy Police Commissioner Jack Maple were used as the inspiration of the television series The District.
[edit] Los Angeles
Bratton worked as a private consultant with Kroll Associates, also known as LAPD's Independent Monitor,[3] until his appointment by Mayor of Los Angeles James Hahn as the LAPD's 54th Chief of Police in October 2002. Under Bratton's tenure, crime within the city had dropped for 6 consecutive years.[4] On June 19, 2007, the LA Police Commission reappointed William Bratton to a second five-year term, the first reappointment of an LAPD chief in almost twenty years. Bratton has been criticized for his extensive travel; in 2005, he was out of town for a full third of the year on both official and personal business.[5]
In March 2009, Councilman Herb Wesson proposed an amendment[6] to the City Charter, allowing Bratton to serve a third consecutive term as Police Chief.
On August 5, 2009, Bratton announced that after nearly seven years he would be stepping down as chief of police for the City of Los Angeles, and he continued to serve as chief until October 31, 2009[7]. Bratton will be moving back to New York City to take a position with a private international security firm called "Altegrity," serving as a CEO of a new division where he will consult on security for police departments worldwide[8].
[edit] Counter revolution
The president of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, said on 29 November 2009 that William Bratton has been "brought in to Venezuela to organize the counter-revolution" [9]
[edit] Personal life
He holds a Bachelor of Science in Law Enforcement from the University of Massachusetts and was a research fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.
Bratton has been married four times.
Bratton is married to attorney and TruTV analyst Rikki Klieman, and has one son, David, from a prior marriage. Bratton was also formerly married to attorney and newscaster Cheryl Fiandaca. Bratton is Roman Catholic.
In 1998, Random House published his memoir TURNAROUND: How America's Top Cop Reversed the Crime Epidemic, written with co-author Peter Knobler. It was named a New York Times Notable Book of the Year.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b http://cbs2.com/local/William.Bratton.Queen.2.1031735.html
- ^ 'The Bratton Resignation' — New York Times
- ^ Kroll Associates' LAPD page
- ^ http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-me-socalcrime1-2009jan01,0,174972.story
- ^ "Bratton Out of Town for a Third of '05" — Los Angeles Times 11 March 2006
- ^ 'Third term for LAPD chief? Councilman seeks hearings' — LA Times
- ^ 'Chief William Bratton To Step Down From LAPD' CBS 2/KCAL 9 Los Angeles
- ^ 'LAPD Chief William Bratton to Resign' KTLA 5 Los Angeles
- ^ Venezuela's Hugo Chavez declares war on "counter-revolutionary"
William Bratton & Peter Knobler. Turnaround: How America's Top Cop Reversed the Crime Epidemic. Random House, 1998.
[edit] External links
- On the Front Line in the War on Terrorism, City Journal, Summer 2007
- LAPD: William J. Bratton Biography
- William Bratton speaks out against concealed carry
- "Ask the Chief" - Southern California Public Radio (KPCC) Interview May 16, 2007 focusing on the MacArthur Park Demonstrations and Bratton's reappointment as LAPD's Chief (Real Audio)
| Police appointments | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by N/A |
Executive Superintendent of the Boston Police Department 1980-1982 |
Succeeded by N/A |
| Preceded by N/A |
Chief of Police - Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Police Department 1983-1986 |
Succeeded by Thomas P. Maloney |
| Preceded by Thomas Keough |
Superintendent of the Boston Metropolitan District Commission Police 1986-1990 |
Succeeded by N/A |
| Preceded by N/A |
Chief of Police/Senior Vice President for the New York City Transit Authority Police Department 1990-1991 |
Succeeded by N/A |
| Preceded by Joseph V. Saia, Jr. |
Superintendent in Chief of Boston Police Department 1991-1993 |
Succeeded by Paul F. Evans |
| Preceded by Francis M. "Mickey" Roache |
Commissioner of the Boston Police Department 1993-1994 |
Succeeded by Paul F. Evans |
| Preceded by Raymond W. Kelly |
NYPD Commissioner 1994-1996 |
Succeeded by Howard Safir |
| Preceded by Martin H. Pomeroy |
Chief of Los Angeles Police Department 2002-2009 |
Succeeded by Michael P. Downing |
|
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