New leadership at Wilshire Division police station

| October 31, 2019 | 0 Comments

Capt. Tim Nordquist

There’s a new commanding officer at the Los Angeles Police Department’s (LAPD) Wilshire Division station.

Capt. Timothy Nordquist — who succeeded Capt. Anthony Oddo in May — brings with him nearly three decades of experience in public service.

Last month, Nordquist invited the Chronicle to the Wilshire station to chat about crime in the community.

Originally from Minnesota, Nordquist began his career in 1990 as a firefighter at a local fire department, but after a few years transitioned into law enforcement, working as an officer at Circle Pine (Minnesota) and Dearborn (Michigan) departments.

Then, in 1999, Nordquist headed west after being hired by the LAPD.

“I used to come out to Los Angeles on vacation because I had family here,” explained Nordquist. “I loved it here so much, and I was tired of the Michigan winters,” he says with a laugh.

“In all honesty, I was drawn to the LAPD because of its reputation for professionalism, and for its immense capabilities and resources,” said Nordquist, who noted that the LAPD is the third largest police department in the nation.

Was the move from a small department in Michigan to the LAPD a big change? I asked.

“I was looking for a big change,” said Nordquist. “But one of the good things about the LAPD is that we have all of these resources, but at the same time, we bring it all back to the communities.

“So, in reality, one LAPD station, like the one here at Wilshire, is no different than a typical police station in other parts of the country.”

Nordquist holds a bachelor of arts from North Central University as well as a masters of science in emergency services administration from Cal State Long Beach.

Wilshire crime

Turning to challenges specific to Wilshire, Nordquist said that he was happy to report that violent crime in the community has gone down across the board. (Wilshire Division includes local neighborhoods primarily west of Gower Street, Plymouth Blvd. and Crenshaw Blvd.)

Violent crime in Wilshire is down nine percent this year compared to last, according to Nordquist, who notes that there were no murders in the area, rapes were down 45 percent, and there was a 60 percent reduction in shooting victims this year.

Still, there’s work to be done: Car break-ins are up 32 percent. “This area, in Wilshire, is leading the entire city in car break-ins,” said Nordquist. “Drivers leave bags in their cars, and suspects are watching them. We try to keep educating the community of the importance of not leaving anything in the car.”

Perhaps more alarmingly, Nordquist said that they have identified organized crews from Northern California who are coming down in groups of four or five in rented cars for the weekend to break into as many cars as possible before fleeing back north.
“We really need the public’s help in reporting suspicious people. If you see someone walking down the street looking into cars, that’s not normal! If you see someone doing that, we want you to call the police,” urged Nordquist.

The number to call is 213-473-0476.

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Category: People

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