Lower than 4 years into his tenure, Santa Monica’s first-ever Latino police chief, Ramón Batista, has introduced his resignation from a division during which he oversaw a drop in crime and elevated police hiring.
Batista hinted at a possible conflict with metropolis leaders in a letter on Friday to town supervisor, Oliver Chi.
“My almost 40 years of expertise in public security and policing, my deeply held sense of justice, and following not solely the spirit, however the letter of the regulation, seem like at odds from calls for set by the brand new administration,” he wrote.
“In that mild, the proper path is to transition management right here, as I look ahead with goal, conviction, and optimism to my subsequent problem.”
Batista mentioned in his letter that his final day could be Oct. 4, precisely two weeks earlier than his fourth anniversary of being sworn in as Santa Monica’s 18th police chief over its 128 years.
Batista and Santa Monica officers didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark.
Chi, who acquired Batista’s letter, mentioned in an announcement he was grateful for the chief’s “many contributions.”
“His dedication, kindness and imaginative and prescient have formed our police division in optimistic methods, and on behalf of all the group, we honor and thank him for his service,” Chi mentioned.
The town supervisor additionally famous that Santa Monica Deputy Chief Darrick Jacob would function appearing police chief.
Chi mentioned Jacob had served the division for greater than 20 years, with tasks together with overseeing every day operations.
“I’m supremely assured that our employees, the police division, and all the group might be properly served by Performing Chief Jacob,” Chi mentioned.
Chi didn’t lay out a course of or a timeline for locating a everlasting substitute.
A name to the Santa Monica Police Officers Assn., which endorsed Batista’s hiring, was not returned.
Batista claims just a few victories in his resignation letter, together with serving to rebuild morale after Santa Monica endured a chaotic protest in Could 2020 during which lots of had been arrested within the wake of the demise of George Floyd.
In Could 2021, an outdoor analyst employed by town discovered a number of shortcomings within the division’s response to the protest. Though nobody died, the OIR Group discovered that widespread “vandalism and property harm, the losses to enterprise and the divisive dealing with of protesters” in the end undermined the “confidence in individuals’s primary safety.”
OIR made 44 suggestions to town, together with addressing the division’s excessive turnover price and never counting on extra time as a repair for low staffing. The report additionally criticized an absence of planning within the lead-up to the protest.
“Throughout that interval, morale was low, many officers had been sidelined as a result of accidents, and the division was stretched skinny,” he wrote.
Batista mentioned in his letter that the division had 177 working cops when he took over in October 2021. He mentioned that quantity had been bumped as much as 231.
A part of what made Batista a beautiful prospect for Santa Monica in the summertime of 2021 was his capacity to battle crime.
By the top of his 2½-year run because the police chief of Mesa, Ariz., his division had lowered Half I crimes to a metropolis all-time low of 23 occasions per 1,000 residents.
Half I crimes, based on the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program, seek advice from eight particular classes of great offenses: felony murder (homicide and non-negligent manslaughter), rape, theft, aggravated assault, housebreaking, larceny-theft, motorized vehicle theft and arson.
In 2024, the division recorded 50,000 proactive contacts with residents and companies whereas responding to 128,000 service calls, based on Batista.
He mentioned his division made 2,800 arrests, which led to a 2% discount in Half I crimes.
“I depart assured that the division is stronger, extra fashionable, and extra related to the group than once I arrived,” he mentioned.
