by Liz Mullen
Hail goodbye to the chief
Anyone who knows Hermosa Beach Police Chief Paul LeBaron should not have been completely surprised by the news last week that he was retiring.
“When I have somebody internally who is ready to step in and be the next Chief, the very next day, I’m leaving,” LeBaron told Easy Reader about a year ago. “That could be next week, it could be next year. It could be in a while, I don’t know,” LeBaron said in that interview on June 3, 2024.
Last week, LeBaron announced he was retiring, effective May 6. The city also announced that HBPD Captain Landon Phillips, a 23-year veteran who has held nearly every leadership role in the department, was appointed as the new HBPD Chief.
Phillips is the first police chief promoted from within HBPD since 2001.
LeBaron, in a statement, called Phillips a “steady and respected leader with a deep dedication to serving the people of Hermosa Beach and a clear vision for the future of the department.” LeBaron, who has authored at least one article on work-life balance, was not available for an interview for this story. He was taking time to celebrate the birth of a new grandchild.
In the interview a year ago, LeBaron said he took the HBPD Chief job because the small beach city offered an opportunity to make a big impact.
“Part of what I wanted to do when I got here was create a culture where the police department is self-sustaining and we can bring our own leadership into it without having to go out and bring new people in who are going to change everything every single time they come in.”
LeBaron was hired in 2020 after working for 27 years at the Long Beach Police Department in multiple positions, including Chief of Staff to the Chief of Police and Commander of the Port Police Division.
Since his arrival HBPD has won state and federal grants, including money to enhance traffic and DUI enforcement and to create a real time crime center.
HBPD also upgraded its reputation as a place people want to work. HBPD recently told the city council that while surrounding police agencies are struggling to hire and retain officers, the Hermosa department is at full employment and has a waiting list of qualified candidates.
Easy Reader’s interview with LeBaron last year was a few days after he won the Joseph T Molloy Award, the highest honor given by the California Police Chiefs Association.
Winning the award brought up the question of whether he wanted to leave Hermosa for a bigger job in a bigger city.
“I came to Hermosa intentionally,” LeBaron said. “I came from Long Beach. That was big. They had a Chief of Police opening and I did not apply for it. I wanted to work here…. This is where I wanted to be and I am making a difference and that is all that matters.”
HBPD investigates hidden cameras at dance studio
HBPD detectives are conducting an investigation into the discovery of cameras hidden in multiple bathrooms at the School of Dance and Music on the 1100 block of Aviation Boulevard.
The bathrooms are used by children and their parents. Parents found the cameras and turned them into dance studio staff members who alerted HBPD.
Liliana Somma, owner of the dance studio, told KABC that she was “horrified” at the discovery of the cameras. Somma told the station she is taking measures to make sure nothing like this happens again, including hiring a company to bug sweep the studio and buying security cameras to monitor who is coming and going from the building.
Anyone who has any information about the cameras is asked to call the HBPD station at (310) 318-0360.
Pint of ice cream, pair of dumbbells stole in in Redondo
One man committed a robbery over a pint of ice cream and another committed a residential burglary in which he got away with a pair of dumbbells in Redondo Beach in the last week of April.
On April 29, a man entered a store on the 2600 block of Artesia Boulevard, selected items and tried to leave without paying. A store employee tried to stop the robber, who shoved the employee to the ground and grabbed and damaged the employee’s cell phone. The robber got away with a pint of ice cream.
There was another robbery on April 23 on the 300 block of south PCH. A man and woman entered a store, picked out items and tried to leave without paying. An employee confronted the pair and they verbally threatened the employee. They got away with 28 body care products.
On April 29 a bald man entered a residential complex on the 600 block of Esplanade and broke into all of the mailboxes. Police suspect he may have had a U.S. Postal Service master key.
On April 4 a man entered the backyard of a property on the 1300 block of Gertruda. The resident asked him to leave. He did, but took a pair of dumbbells with him.
MBPD arrests adult in spat with juveniles
Manhattan Beach Police Department officers arrested an adult who started a fight with juveniles on The Strand because they were riding their bikes on the walk path.
MBPD was called to the 2500 block of The Strand at 6:40 a.m. on April 25 to investigate a call about people fighting. When officers arrived they interviewed multiple witnesses who said the altercation started with an adult yelling at juveniles for riding bicycles on the walk path. The suspect knocked a bicycle over and kicked it. A witness tried to stop the suspect and the suspect pushed the witness. One of the witnesses recorded the incident on their cell phone. After reviewing that video, officers arrested the adult. ER
