Bernard Parks
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Bernard C. Parks (born December 7, 1943) is an American
politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...
who served as a member of the
Los Angeles City Council The Los Angeles City Council is the Legislature, lawmaking body for the Government of Los Angeles, city government of Los Angeles, California, the second largest city in the United States. It has 15 members who each represent the 15 city council ...
, representing the 8th district in
South Los Angeles South Los Angeles, also known as South Central Los Angeles or simply South Central, is a region in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, lying mostly within the city limits of Los Angeles, south of Downtown Los Angeles, downtown. It is de ...
from 2003 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, Parks served as Chief of the
Los Angeles Police Department The City of Los Angeles Police Department, commonly referred to as Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), is the primary law enforcement agency of Los Angeles, California, United States. With 8,832 officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the th ...
from August 1997 to May 2002.


Early life and education

Parks is a graduate of Daniel Murphy High School and attended
Los Angeles City College Los Angeles City College (LACC) is a public community college in East Hollywood, California. A part of the Los Angeles Community College District, it is located on Vermont Avenue south of Santa Monica Boulevard on the former campus of the U ...
and received a bachelor's degree from
Pepperdine University Pepperdine University () is a private university, private Christianity, Christian research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ, with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Pepperdine's main campus consists ...
. He earned a Master's Degree in
public administration Public administration, or public policy and administration refers to "the management of public programs", or the "translation of politics into the reality that citizens see every day",Kettl, Donald and James Fessler. 2009. ''The Politics of the ...
from the
University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...
.


Career

During his tenure, the LAPD was rocked by a corruption and police brutality scandal involving the elite C.R.A.S.H. anti-gang unit of the
Rampart Division The Rampart Division of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) serves communities to the west of Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) including Silver Lake, Los Angeles, Silver Lake, Echo Park, Pico-Union, Los Angeles, Pico-Union and Westlake, Los Ange ...
in the overwhelmingly Latino
Pico-Union Pico-Union is a neighborhood in Central Los Angeles, California. The name "Pico-Union" refers to the neighborhood that surrounds the intersection of Pico Boulevard and Union Avenue. Located immediately west of Downtown Los Angeles, it is home ...
and Westlake districts. The Police Commission, under Commission President Rick J. Caruso did not recommend Parks for reappointment as police chief. Parks was succeeded as chief by
William Bratton William Joseph Bratton CBE (born October 6, 1947) is an American businessman and former law enforcement officer who served two non-consecutive tenures as the New York City Police Commissioner (1994–1996 and 2014–2016) and currently one of ...
. In 2003, Parks won the seat on the
Los Angeles City Council The Los Angeles City Council is the Legislature, lawmaking body for the Government of Los Angeles, city government of Los Angeles, California, the second largest city in the United States. It has 15 members who each represent the 15 city council ...
for Council District 8 representing
South Los Angeles South Los Angeles, also known as South Central Los Angeles or simply South Central, is a region in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, lying mostly within the city limits of Los Angeles, south of Downtown Los Angeles, downtown. It is de ...
. He also unsuccessfully ran for the post of mayor in the 2005 elections, coming fourth in the primary. In 2008, Parks unsuccessfully sought to succeed
Yvonne Brathwaite Burke Yvonne Pearl Burke (née Watson, later Brathwaite; born October 5, 1932) is an American politician and lawyer from California. She was the first African-American woman to represent the West Coast in Congress. She served in the U.S. Congress from ...
on the
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors (LACBOS) is the five-member Board of Supervisors, governing body of Los Angeles County, California, United States. History On April 1, 1850 the citizens of Los Angeles elected a three-man Court of Se ...
, losing to Mark Ridley-Thomas in a
runoff election The two-round system (TRS or 2RS), sometimes called ballotage, top-two runoff, or two-round plurality, is a single-winner electoral system which aims to elect a member who has support of the majority of voters. The two-round system involves one ...
. Term limits forced Parks out of the city council office in 2015.
Marqueece Harris-Dawson Marqueece L. Harris-Dawson (born November 7, 1969) is an American politician, currently serving as the president of the Los Angeles City Council since September 20, 2024. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, who has ...
won the District 8 election for the vacant seat, and replaced Parks on 1 July 2015. LA Times: "Marqueece Harris-Dawson takes office as councilman of L.A.'s 8th District"
1 July 2015.


References


External links



* ttp://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-parks4-2008may04,0,4617315.story "Bernard Parks' record as LAPD chief and city councilman is a mixed blessing in his race for L.A. County supervisor"--LA Times
Gillian Wolf, "Bernard C. Parks," ''Gale Contemporary Black Biography''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parks, Bernard, C. 1943 births Living people African-American police officers American police officers African-American people in California politics California Democrats Los Angeles City College alumni Los Angeles City Council members Chiefs of the Los Angeles Police Department Politicians from Beaumont, Texas Pepperdine University alumni USC Sol Price School of Public Policy alumni 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people Candidates in the 2005 United States elections