Interim Police Chief Larry Todd knows his stay in Hollister may
be short, but he hopes it will have a lasting effect on the
department and its future.
Interim Police Chief Larry Todd knows his stay in Hollister may be short, but he hopes it will have a lasting effect on the department and its future.
Todd, who officially took over for retiring chief Bill Pierpoint Monday, wants to use his limited time of two to three months to build upon the existing foundation and expand the department’s sense of mission and service to the community.
One of the things Todd wants to address is the way officers see themselves and how they view what they do.
“There are some morale issues in the department and I would like to be able to help the organization overcome those issues, and identify what the cause of those morale issues are, and focus on dealing with those issues,” he said.
Todd, a native of Pomona, said he has an open and easy-going style, but believes in holding people within his department accountable for their actions.
“We are in the unique profession where we are required to hold other people accountable for their behavior and I think the community has the right to expect, at last, the same level of behavior from our staff,” Todd said.
With the amount of stress that officers face on a daily basis, Todd said he does not want to unnecessarily add to that within the department.
“I like to have fun. I like to have fun with my staff. I like my staff to have fun with the community,” he said. “I learned a long time ago that we are not here to police the community. We are paid to be the community’s police, and there is a big difference.”
Todd said he wants to incorporate that concept of community within the staff and that they perceive themselves as part of the community.
“There are a lot of different perceptions going on,” he said. “One of my roles is to help people focus and really look at what those perceptions are and what’s driving them, and help create a common perception for the whole organization so we’re all heading down the same line.”
Todd said it is important to make sure the department’s personnel perceive things in the same way because perceptions within a department are similar to the oars on a boat.
“If everybody is rowing at a different stroke and at a different time, the ship is going to be wiggling back and forth and turning and going different places, and it won’t be a very successful cruise,” Todd said. “I hope during my course of the cruise here, to help get the organization stabilized a little bit.”
Todd, a father of four and grandfather of two, also wants to help staff develop confidence in who they are and what they represent.
“If I can do some of that in the next three or four months, I think I will have been successful,” he said.
Although Todd said he likes Hollister, he has no intention of applying for the permanent position.
“I have 32 years in the business and I have no interest in going back into it full time,” he said. “Maybe I can help encourage some people I know throughout the state to apply so that Ed Kreins (city manager) can have a broader base of candidates to draw from.”
However, Todd was happy to accept the temporary assignment.
“I’ve been in Los Gatos for the last 15 years and I’m familiar with Hollister,” he said. “I’ve played golf here. I have not been here for the motorcycle rally, but it is a great community. It’s a growing community and whoever lands the job of chief really has a nice opportunity to build a nice organization and represent a great community.”
Todd retired from the Los Gatos Police Department in June. He began his career with the West Covina Police Department, served the City of Pleasanton for two and one half years as a captain, and was appointed Chief of Police in Los Gatos in 1988, where he served for more than 14 years.
Todd is a graduate of California State, Los Angeles, and holds a master’s degree in criminology from Claremont Graduate School.
He has served on several committees for the governors office and the Department of Justice, as the president of the California Police Chiefs Association, and the League of California Cities.
He also was the chairman of the state California Chiefs Standards and Ethics Committee, and Firearms Issues Committee, and has served on committees for the International Association of Chiefs of Police.
In 1999, Todd received an honor awarded to one chief of police each year, as the person who best exemplifies outstanding leadership and professionalism in law enforcement. He is also a Medal of Valor recipient.
