Top Valley Cop Aims to Boost Productivity

To those who don’t know him, Deputy Chief Ronald Bergman, commander of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Valley Bureau, can come off as a man without much of a personality--a stern-faced, utterly serious, humorless man who stresses discipline and organization.

Bergman, 55, sipping coffee on a recent morning at Millie’s Kitchen in Van Nuys, broke into a big smile when he heard that description.

“That’s the bane of my existence,” he laughed.

It was Bergman’s dedication to the city, not his flamboyance, that persuaded Police Chief Bernard C. Parks to pick him as the Valley’s top cop.

“All through his career, he’s been a no-nonsense, no-fanfare, but totally committed man,” said Parks, who has known Bergman for more than 20 years. “It takes a little time for people to warm up to him. He’s just not a gregarious person, and he’s not looking for accolades.”

Six months into the job, Bergman said he is troubled that productivity is down throughout the LAPD.

‘Arrests are down and crime is up,” said Bergman, who earns $139,000 a year as the Valley commander. “All divisions are experiencing an increase in crime this year, except Devonshire.”

Bergman blames the reduced productivity on low morale, which he believes stems from a combination of the Rampart scandal, the fear of citizen complaints, and the controversy over the yet-to-be-implemented three-day-a-week, 12-hour-a-day work schedule, commonly known as “the 3-12.”

Bergman said he is against the 3-12, as is Parks, but Mayor-elect James K. Hahn favors it. “If the mayor wants it, we implement it,” Bergman said.

It’s all about being a good soldier.

“Part of being a good leader is being a good follower,” said Bergman, who is 6 feet, 3 inches and weighs 200 pounds. “I tell my people, ‘If I tell you to do something and it’s not illegal or immoral or unethical, then just do it.’ ”

Said Parks: “Bergman speaks his mind. It’s important for a subordinate that they know where the boss stands, and he has no difficulty in telling them.”

Bergman is determined to raise the troops’ morale.

“Our employees are in a funk, and I’m going to try to get them out of that,” said Bergman, who replaced Michael Bostick, who became commander of the LAPD’s Human Resources Bureau. “Today’s employee expects more from their employer. There’s a different mentality today. People don’t take no for an answer. In my day, if we wanted the 3-12 and they said no, we’d just say OK.”

Union Leader Says Bergman ‘Out of Touch’

Officer Mitzi Grasso, president of the Police Protective League, said Bergman is part of the morale problem. “We feel he’s out of touch with the rank and file and part of the regime that is responsible for the low morale. We’re not particularly friendly with Bergman because we’ve seen him as vindictive and unreasonable in his disciplinary actions on officers.”

The LAPD’s Valley Bureau is by far the largest and most populous in the city. It encompasses 2,823 square miles and is home to more than 1.2 million people. The bureau has more than 1,700 officers and is beset with some of the city’s worst rates of burglary, auto theft and sex-related crimes.

But Bergman suggested that the Valley’s most intractable problem is the frequency of traffic fatalities. One solution: Bergman wants his officers to write more tickets, and he wants all officers to write them, not just those in the traffic division.

“Traffic deaths are historically higher than homicides in the Valley, but we don’t put the resources on them that we do for a homicide,” Bergman said. “Traffic fatalities are just a senseless death.”

Bergman was born in Chicago and moved around the country with his father, a military man. He graduated from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign with a bachelor’s degree in business. In 1994, at age 48, he earned a master’s in public administration at USC.

Bergman joined the U.S. Air Force in 1968 and retired in 1973 as a captain. He spent much of his career with the Strategic Air Command and the Air Force Recruiting Service. He regrets that his poor eyesight kept him from being a pilot or navigator.

“If I could fly, I might have stayed in,” he said.

After joining the LAPD, his first assignment was at the Foothill Division, where, 21 years later, he would return as commanding officer, When he did return, the division was still reeling after the Rodney King beating. In between, Bergman was a detective in Hollywood, a sergeant at the 77th Street Division and the head of the security planning team for the 1984 Olympics. His last job was as commander of LAPD’s Administration Group.

Attorney Calls Lawman ‘a Straight Shooter’

Encino attorney Lee Kanon Alpert has known Bergman since he was a street cop.

“He was the same then as he is now,” said Alpert, 54. “He’s got this tough exterior, but he’s got a heart of gold. He’s a very well-balanced person. He doesn’t fly off the handle. He responds to stress with extreme calm. He’s a straight shooter and I’m not talking about his gun.”

Bergman has never fired his gun in the line of duty, but said he has pulled it out many times and taken in his share of street guns, especially while working in the rough-and-tumble 77th.

An LAPD captain who has known Bergman since their days at the 77th gave Bergman high marks for his first six months on the job.

“I’ve been very pleased since he’s taken over,” said Capt. Joe Curreri, who commands the Devonshire Division. “He seems open to suggestions and very responsive to what’s been suggested.”

A member of the Police Commission, Bert Boeckmann said one of Bergman’s strengths is how he deals with the community. “Chief Bergman is very positive, very good at dealing with community problems,” said Boeckmann, who owns Galpin Ford in Van Nuys. “He has always represented the department well and really cared about what he was doing. Plus he lives in the Valley and knows the Valley.” And Bergman likes the Valley. He still lives in the four-bedroom West Valley home he bought 20 years ago.

As Bergman walked out of Millie’s, decked in a dark suit, crisp white shirt, black wing-tips and a checkered tie, he commented on his appearance.

“I look like a cop,” he said. “I always have. Even back in the ‘70s.”

Shortly after he joined the LAPD in 1973, he was in a Vons supermarket in his street clothes and he walked into an aisle where two shady looking characters were standing.

“They saw me and they both put up their hands,” laughed Bergman. “Then one of them said ‘I didn’t do it, officer.’ ”