Sheriff’s Department Veteran to Oversee East County Division
A 20-year veteran of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department will become a chief to fill an east county vacancy created by the ascension of newly elected Sheriff Bob Brooks.
On July 12, Sheriff’s Cmdr. Bruce McDowell, 43, will be promoted to oversee the East County Police Services Division, which administers law enforcement for more than 171,000 residents between the top of the Conejo Grade and the Los Angeles County line.
The job will include overseeing the police services the department provides under contract to Thousand Oaks and Moorpark, Capt. Keith Parks said Tuesday.
Brooks held the position before taking over Friday for retired Sheriff Larry Carpenter. McDowell will be one of four chief deputies in the department, Parks said.
McDowell has managed several operations in the department, including the Special Services Bureau, which conducts homicide, robbery and narcotics investigations, and the SWAT, hostage negotiations and bomb squad teams.
He is also in charge of the department’s firearms committee, and he served previously as the East County Police Services Division administrative commander--overseeing budgets, investigations and a sheriff’s contract in Moorpark.
McDowell also served on the accreditation advisory committee for Cal State Northridge’s master’s of public administration program in Ventura.
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