Hermosa Beach Selects New Police Chief

By City News Service

Hermosa Beach's city manager chose LAPD Cmdr. Sharon Papa as the city's new police chief, city officials confirmed Thursday.

Papa, formerly a 17-year Metro police officer who joined the LAPD in a 1997 merger, and Los Angeles County Assistant Sheriff Cecil Rhambo were finalists for the position, which had been vacant nearly 18 months.

Hermosa Beach Mayor Kit Bobko endorsed Rhambo, but City Manager Tom Bakaly chose Papa, who had been an LAPD assistant chief for seven years until Chief Charlie Beck demoted her.

She will now undergo a vetting process and background check, with a goal of her assuming office Oct. 1, Hermosa Beach police Sgt. Robert Higgins said.

Bakaly defended his decision to choose Papa.

"I went with the candidate that I believe will be the best fit for Hermosa and lead us into the future," he said in published remarks. "This was a difficult decision ... but at the end of the day I went with what I thought was best for the community."

Papa will oversee a 37-officer department in the 1.3-square-mile town, which has about 20,000 residents. The job comes with a $20,000 signing bonus, as long as Papa stays with the department for two years. Her annual salary would be about $160,000.

The selection process took a long time because it was done twice. During the first search, the city's top candidate turned out to have lied about being on administrative leave from his current job when he applied for the Hermosa Beach position.