LAPD Northeast Division Capt. William Murphy announced during Monday evening's meeting of the Community Policing Advisory Board at Eagle Rock City Hall that he has been promoted to the rank of commander and will leave his post next month.
"It's been a wonderful five years," said Murphy, who joined the division in a year it led the city of Los Angeles in homicides. Since then, violent crime steadily decreased across Northeast Los Angeles until bottoming out in 2011, before an uptick last year.
He noted that he leaves the division at a time when three Northeast Division neighborhoods--Highland Park, Eagle Rock and Glassell Park--are listed among Redfin's top ten markets.
"You don't get that kind of action in the real estate market unless people feel safe," he said.
Murphy's last day in the division will be March 10, at which point he will be replaced by Capt. Jeff Bert.
Bert is currently serving as a commanding officer in the Valley's Traffic Division. Prior to that, he was a commanding officer in the Southeast Division. He has also worked as a Gang Unit Lieutenant in LAPD's Pacific Community Division.
"I'm excited to be here," Bert said. "This is my first time here, but I'm no stranger to many of these Northeast L.A. communities."
He referred to Murphy as a "mentor," who taught him a lot about "dealing with people and critical thinking" in the times when both were called in to LAPD Headquarters to handle city-wide crises.
Murphy said that Bert was a man after his own heart, a quiet and community-minded leader who will rely on community input to fight crime in Northeast.
"He's a very, very nice guy," Murphy said. "He's a person very much like me. He's quiet and he'll work very hard."
