VALLEY COLLEGE : Campus Hires LAPD Veteran

Michael T. Habicht says it’s nice to finally come home.

After 27 years with the Los Angeles Police Department, Habicht returned to his alma mater, Valley College, this summer as a campus police officer.

And so far, he said, he loves the job.

Habicht said he likes to help keep the campus safe and assist students. He calls things like giving directions, listening and talking to students “good little things” that are part of his job.

“Those good little things are real,” he said. “Ninety-nine percent of the job is communicating.”

Communication is one reason Capt. Karl Traber, head of Valley’s campus police force, “handpicked” Habicht.

“His strength is knowing people. He knows how to put them at ease. I’m very pleased to have him here,” Traber said.

One thing Habicht hopes to accomplish is to pass along some of what he learned in his career.

“There’s an old adage,” he said. “When an old man dies, a library burns.”

His career included 23 years as a felony manslaughter detective. Of 400 cases on which he worked, he said, only one remains unsolved.

“It’s very rewarding, 27 years went by so fast,” he said.