SAN FERNANDO VALLEY : LAPD’s Kroeker Seeks Job as San Diego Police Chief

Deputy Los Angeles Police Chief Mark A. Kroeker, the San Fernando Valley’s top police official and a key figure in defusing hostility between police and residents after the Rodney G. King beating, is applying for police chief of San Diego, he said Tuesday.

Kroeker, who in the last year has been passed over for the positions of Los Angeles police chief and assistant chief, said he is not bitter but has begun to wonder whether he has reached a dead end in the department, where he has forged a 28-year career.

“I’m at a point where I believe I should be looking around a little bit,” said Kroeker, 49, who commands the Police Department’s Van Nuys-based Valley Bureau. “It looks like the top echelon is in place and I want to move on with my life.” Los Angeles police spokesman John Dunkin said Chief Willie L. Williams was not available for immediate comment.