Deputy Chief Leslie Ramirez Appointed Interim Chief Of Los Angeles School Police Department
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — Los Angeles Unified School District announced Thursday that Deputy Chief Leslie Ramirez has been named Interim Chief of Los Angeles School Police Department, effective immediately, following Chief Todd Chamberlain's resignation.
"For 22 years, Interim Chief Ramirez has dedicated her career to keeping all in our school community – students, staff and families – safe," Superintendent Austin Beutner said.
"She is the right person to lead implementation of the Board's directive to change the department's practices in a way that continues to protect the safety of our school communities, recognizing the significantly reduced resources LASPD will now have."
On Wednesday, Los Angeles School Police Chief Todd Chamberlain resigned after board officials voted to slash his department's budget.
"I am honored to have been selected as Interim Chief of Los Angeles School Police," Interim Chief Ramirez said.
"In the weeks ahead, we will begin the process of reviewing and evaluating our operational plan and objectives. Our focus will be to maximize our deployment strategy while minimizing the impact to students, staff and our personnel. What remains unchanged is the importance of our role and our mission to maintain the safest educational environments throughout Los Angeles Unified."
The Board of Education voted Tuesday night to slash the school police budget by $25 million, or roughly 35%.
