Kroeker Named Police Chief in Portland, Ore.

Former Los Angeles Deputy Police Chief Mark Kroeker, who was passed over for the department’s top job two years ago, has been named chief of Portland’s 1,300-member police force.

Kroeker, 55, will begin his $130,000-a-year job Dec. 22, Portland Mayor Vera Katz announced Thursday.

With his wife of 34 years, Diane, at his side, Kroeker met the public for the first time Thursday, vowing to listen to community and police concerns as he learns his new job.

“I don’t intend to change anything, but I intend to improve everything,” Kroeker said, responding to a question on what changes he anticipates making in this city’s Police Bureau. “I’m a rookie in Portland.”

Kroeker was a popular LAPD commander who spent 32 years with the department before retiring in 1997--shortly after he had finished second to Bernard C. Parks in a close race to become the LAPD chief.

He then accepted a job as deputy commissioner of the United Nations’ International Police Task Force in Bosnia, where he was responsible for supervising and restructuring that country’s war-ravaged police agencies. Earlier in his career, he served as an international police advisor in Haiti, Rwanda and Burundi.

In Portland, Kroeker becomes the first chief tapped from outside the department in a quarter of a century. As such, Kroeker acknowledged Thursday, he will need to develop respect within the ranks.

Yet his appointment appears to be a natural match based on Portland’s pioneering efforts in community policing, which he enthusiastically supports.

Kroeker told reporters at a news conference in Portland’s Justice Center that he hopes to improve morale in the bureau--as Portland calls its police department--saying that every organization works at its best when morale is high.

Kroeker listed three goals: reduce crime and the fear of crime; improve the quality of life in all city neighborhoods, and improve the relationship between the community and police.

Portland city officials praised Kroeker for his sensitivity to diversity issues and his emphasis on community policing.

“I know I’ve made the right choice,” Katz said.

Kroeker beat out Ronald C. Monroe, a 20-year veteran of the Washington, D.C., Police Department, for the job. They were the finalists among 37 candidates.

The son of Mennonite missionaries, Kroeker was born in Dallas, Ore. After attending elementary school briefly in Oregon, he was raised in the Belgian Congo and Europe before coming to the United States.

Kroeker, who was very popular with the LAPD’s rank and file, said upon retiring in 1997 that he was leaving the department with “contentment” and “sadness,” calling his move a “transition.”

But he was clearly dissatisfied with his role under Parks. He had no department divisions or commands under his control, and he told friends and colleagues that he felt ostracized.

Upon taking his assignment in Bosnia, Kroeker said he packed a wood carving of a man with his arm around his wife and child.

“To me, that’s what it’s all about--the unity and safety of the family,” he said at the time.

On Tuesday, Kroeker said he has “profound” feelings about leaving Los Angeles after so many years.

Portland has had eight chiefs of police in fewer than 20 years.