Retired Police Chief Leads Training Center

Former La Palma Police Chief Dave Barr has been named director of Golden West College’s Criminal Justice Training Center.

Barr took over the job on a temporary basis last summer. This week, the board of the Coast Community College District voted unanimously to hire him permanently.

The police academy produces graduates hired by police departments throughout the state.

Barr first joined Golden West as a part-time instructor in 1988, teaching management, community-oriented policing and problem solving.

He retired from the La Palma Police Department on July 14, 1997, 32 years to the day after his police career began in that city. During his career, he received a Certificate of Valor from the state attorney general’s office, the La Palma Police Department’s Medal of Valor and the Officer of the Year award.