Executive Picked as New President of Police Panel : LAPD: Enrique Hernandez Jr., head of an Alhambra security company, brings a reputation as a straightforward leader and an outspoken commissioner.

A business executive whose father is a retired police officer was elected Tuesday to head the Los Angeles Police Commission, bringing his reputation for straight talk and management expertise to the presidency of the civilian board that oversees the Police Department.

Enrique Hernandez Jr., president of an Alhambra company that provides security and other services to government and business customers, became the second Police Commission president to serve as head of the five-member civilian body since Mayor Richard Riordan took office in 1993 and replaced the entire commission with his own appointees.

Since his appointment a year ago, Hernandez has played an increasingly assertive role on the commission, although much of his work has gone on behind the scenes. Hernandez, a graduate of Harvard Law School, is the board’s designated specialist on officer-involved shootings, a responsibility that gives him little public exposure but makes him the point man on sensitive issues of officer discipline and training.

He has also been outspoken about issues of low officer morale and the shoddy state of LAPD equipment.

Hernandez’s determination to attack those problems has impressed members of Police Chief Willie L. Williams’ command staff. Many view him as a straightforward leader who is willing to challenge them when he disagrees, although Police Department sources also report that relations between Hernandez and Williams have not been especially close.

“I think this organization, like most others, is successful if the services that are provided are good services,” Hernandez said in a recent interview. “And to have good services there has to be a well-trained and enthusiastic police officer who is properly equipped. The morale of the officers is critical, the way that we support them both with procedures and training and also the tools--working cars, proper radios.”

Hernandez takes over the presidency from Rabbi Gary Greenebaum, whose year as president began amid public uncertainty about the commission’s commitment to reform of the Police Department. While at the helm of the commission, Greenebaum organized a series of updates on the status of reform, using them as a platform to urge the department to press ahead with recommendations made by the Christopher Commission regarding the use of force by police officers and the need for the LAPD to adopt a more community-oriented style of policing.

Greenebaum, who will remain a member of the commission, also played a key role in acknowledging the department’s problems with sexual harassment and in supporting Williams’ efforts to tackle the issue. With Greenebaum’s support, Williams backed a proposal to create a separate unit to investigate sexual harassment and discrimination complaints, although the specifics of how that unit will operate still are being debated.

Over the last year, however, the commission also struggled with some issues. Its efforts to install a computerized tracking system for officers repeatedly ran into snags, and its work to combat sexual harassment has been criticized by some as being too little, too late.

“They’ve been very serious in moving to deal with the sexual harassment and discrimination issues that I’ve been involved with,” said Katherine Spillar, president of the Feminist Majority in Los Angeles and a leader of the Women’s Advisory Council to the Police Commission. “It’s not been far enough and not fast enough, but there’s been progress.”

Greenebaum agreed that many changes have taken longer than he expected, but he praised his fellow commissioners and said he believes the efforts launched by the commission during the last year have set the department on the right course.

“I leave the position optimistic,” said Greenebaum as he prepared to step down Tuesday. “I think we made some real strides toward reform. . . . And I also leave it realistic about how long it takes to reform this department. What I thought could be done in a couple years probably can’t be done that quickly.”