Torrance Police Department

The Torrance Police Department is the police department serving Torrance, California.

Torrance Police Department
Patch of the Torrance Police dept.
Common nameTorrance Police
AbbreviationTPD
Agency overview
Employees246
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdictionTorrance, California, U.S.
jurisdiction of Torrance Police Department
Size20.553 sq mi (53.233 km2)
Population147,027
Legal jurisdictionTorrance, California
General nature
Operational structure
Headquarters3300 Civic Center Drive Torrance, California 90503
Officers240
Civilians100
Agency executive
Website
Torrance Police Department Official Website

The department employs 227 sworn officers and 124 civilians. The department is the largest law enforcement agency in South Bay, and is one of the largest police departments in Los Angeles County.

Since January 2018, the Chief of Police has been Eve Berg.

Overview

The Torrance Police Department has jurisdiction in the city limits of Torrance. Other sections with a "Torrance, CA" address are served by either the Los Angeles Police Department (the Harbor Gateway area east of Western Avenue) or the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department in an unincorporated area adjacent to the Harbor Freeway with the ZIP code of 90502. Both areas are easily identified by their Los Angeles County-styled street signage. The department patrols an approximate one mile (1.6 km) area of Torrance Beach.

Officers carry the Glock 21 .45 Auto as the primary sidearm and the holster of choice is made and produced by Safariland.

Bureaus/Units
  • Administrative Bureau; consisting of the Personnel, Research & Training and Records Divisions
  • Support Services Bureau; consisting of the Communications and Services Divisions
  • Patrol Bureau; consisting of the Patrol and Community Affairs Divisions
  • Special Operations Bureau; consisting of the Special Investigations and Detective Divisions
  • Special Units include; Robbery/Homicide, Cold Case Homicide, SWAT, Crisis Negotiation Team (CNT), K-9, Motors, School Resource Officer (SRO), Community Lead Officer (CLO), etc...

Controversy

During the massive multi-agency manhunt for Christopher Jordan Dorner, the prime suspect in the 2013 Southern California shootings, in two separate incidents in the early morning hours of February 7, 2013, police shot at people unrelated to Dorner. Dorner was not present at either incident.[1] Officers of the Torrance Police Department initiated the shooting in the second of these two cases.

Torrance police officers first rammed the truck with their car, then opened fire. The vehicle was being driven by David Perdue who was on his way to the beach for some early morning surfing before work. Police claim that Perdue's pickup truck "matched the description"[2] of the one belonging to Dorner. However, the Los Angeles Times reports that "the pickups were different makes and colors ... Perdue looks nothing like Dorner: He's several inches shorter and about a hundred pounds lighter ... Perdue is white; Dorner is black."[2]

Six months after the assault, the police paid Perdue $20,000 for the damage to his truck. The city has offered Perdue a half million dollars to settle the case, but he insists on almost four million dollars. As of August 2013, the city has not allowed outside investigators to see the truck.[3]

In contrast, the Los Angeles Police Department paid $4.2 million for the damages caused by their attack on the two women within a month without going to court.[3]

In 2007, while cleaning his service weapon a 10-year veteran of the force was cleaning his department issued Glock 21 .45 caliber service pistol when it discharged. The officer received lacerations to his hand. OSHA did end up filing a brief report of the incident.[4]

In the 2015 film Straight Outta Compton, members of the Torrance Police Department harass members of N.W.A.

Fallen officers

Since the establishment of the Torrance Police Department, four officers have died while on duty.[5]

See also

References
  1. Search for killings suspect leads to shootings in South Bay Orange County Register. February 7, 2013. Accessed February 11, 2013
  2. Faturechi, Robert (2013-02-09). "Police seeking Dorner opened fire in a second case of mistaken identity". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2013-02-10.
  3. Torrance pays for truck of man mistakenly shot during Dorner hunt, by Joel Rubin,LA Times, 18 August 2013
  4. https://www.osha.gov/pls/imis/establishment.inspection_detail?id=309905198
  5. The Officer Down Memorial Page
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