By Mary O’KEEFE

Last month a new captain was assigned to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Dept.-Crescenta Valley Station after former captain Christopher Blasnek was promoted to commander. Blasnek had been at the station about two years before being promoted. Captain Todd Deeds was promoted to the CV Station in May. Readers have contacted CVW asking how LASD chooses who will be considered for the captain’s position.

“Executives” at LASD begin looking at the records of candidates who are ready for promotion. For Sheriff Alex Villanueva, there is an emphasis on patrol experience.

The most desirable candidates will have line patrol experience at each rank, extensive training and formal education, a history of community engagement and service as well as a familiarity with the patrol station area and the community it serves, according to a sheriff’s spokesperson.

Candidates chosen are then interviewed by community leaders. In the case of Crescenta Valley and La Cañada, that meant that CV Town Council President Harry Leon, along with members of CVTC, and La Cañada City Manager Mark Alexander and City Council members were part of the interview process. In addition, Supervisor Kathryn Barger’s office was part of the interview process.

In years past only one to three candidates were considered; however, Villanueva has changed that protocol to include up to 10 candidates per station. Those selected are vetted by the executive board. The interviews of those approved candidates are then sent to the local level.

Once all finalists have been interviewed, the panel chair will recommend its selection to the sheriff, who prioritizes their choices but reserves the final authority to appoint the captain.

  Mary Okeefe