Ace Hermosa Beach detective to retire
Detective Sgt. Raul Saldana investigated many of the town’s biggest crimes. Photo Detective Sgt. Raul “Sal” Saldana, who has worked many of the town’s most high-profile and difficult crime investigations, is hanging up his badge after a quarter century with the Hermosa Beach Police Department. The retirement of Saldana, 54, effective March 30, will be “a huge loss” to the force, interim Police Chief Steve Johnson said. “He’s a guy we’re definitely going to miss,” said Lt. Tom Thompson, who has command-level authority over the detective bureau that Saldana supervises on a day-to-day basis. “I’ve been there as long as Sal has, and I’ve always been impressed with his work ethic and his talents as an investigator. He’s able to deal with so many different people – suspects, citizens, it doesn’t matter,” Thompson said. Thompson said one of Saldana’s key strengths is drawing confessions and other key information from suspects. “It’s his personality, he reads the person well. It’s like, ‘Tell Father Sal your sins, and you’ll be saved’ or something,” Thompson said. “It’s been a great run,” Saldana said. “The people I work with, we have these relationships. I’ve trained half the cops here…
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