For a man widely seen as the disciple of just-exited LAPD Chief William J. Bratton, Charlie Beck on Wednesday exhibited some notable contrasts in style and strategy from the man he was tapped to replace.
In an interview with Times reporters, editors and editorial board members, Deputy Chief Beck portrayed himself as a leader rooted by his ties to rank-and-file officers, as opposed to Bratton, who reformed the department by focusing on its upper echelon.
The 32-year veteran of the Los Angeles Police Department said he would concentrate on pushing down reforms Bratton introduced into the mind-set of the thousands of officers who are the heart of the organization.
"The only way that real change is made is from the bottom up," he said. "You can mandate change from the top . . . but the only way an organization really changes is from the roots up; that's much more powerful. So what you'll see is different with me is I'm going to concentrate on the roots of the organization."
He said Bratton was successful in getting the department's upper management to accept his progressive vision for the LAPD because "that's his wheelhouse. With me, my wheelhouse is much more about the rank-and-file. I think that will be the major difference. . . . I see this as an evolution more than a revolution."
That focus, Beck said, will keep him in Los Angeles far more than Bratton, whose extensive travels to faraway places for conferences, speaking engagements and the like became a running joke for some and a point of contention for others.
"I certainly won't travel as much as [Bratton] did. This is my home. This is where my family is. . . . I'm a local boy, I always have been and that's the way I'll be as chief," he said. "And, again, with my philosophy of driving these changes down internally, I've got to be here to do that. I've got to touch people. I've got to have conversations with the [officers] and I can't do that from out of state."
Beck took a lighthearted jab at Bratton, saying he would continue Bratton's practice of consulting with people with different points of view on subjects, but deadpanned: "I think I have a little more of a common touch, much more of a common touch. I think that maybe at the end of the day you'll think of me more of a cop's chief rather than a leader-manager."
