Captain Mike Parker, a 24-year veteran of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, was recently promoted to the rank of Captain by Sheriff Lee Baca and assigned to the Sheriff’s Headquarters Bureau (SHB). SHB leads the Media and Marketing efforts of the Department and coordinates the 24-hour dissemination of news and information to the general public, news media, and members of the Department, as well as executive notifications.
He gracefully agreed to kicks off the series of interviews with police officers on DCC. Mike tweets under the account name @mpLASD.
1: How do you prefer for your day? Do you have a special routine?
Constantly monitoring and sharing information, internally and externally. If I am not reading something, I am writing something, or in a meeting or special event, or talking to people. It is interesting and challenging work, requiring an endless series of decisions.
2: When did you realize that you wanted to be become an officer?
When I was a boy scout. I like making a difference.
3: Can you give us a brief overview of your law enforcement career?
I worked in the jails and patrol at three ranks before being promoted to captain of Sheriff’s Headquarters Bureau (Communications, media relations, Marketing) by Sheriff Lee Baca in 2009. During my 26 years, I also worked as a chief’s aide, international liaison, community policing, Community Transition Unit, Internal Affairs, transit policing, and media relations.
4: Which trials/cases still haunts you till today?
Several do, especially child abuse cases. One of the most difficult things about this career is to see what one human being is capable of doing to another human being.
5: If you have a blog, how did you get started? Who or what inspired you to blog?
I haven’t blogged. Instead, I have written about 80 articles for policing publications and make a lot of presentations. I do it because if you learn something, it should be seen as an honor and duty to be able to share it with others. How else can we all advance?
6: Did you end up in the profession of your childhood dreams?
Yes. It is a privilege to be allowed to be a peace officer and I never forget that.
7: If you could trade places with a cartoon character for one day … who would that be?
Is the invisible man a cartoon? (He is invisible after all.)