> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # SM’s top cop is taking off - URL: https://www.smdp.com/sms-top-cop-is-taking-off/ - Published: 2006-05-25T15:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-23T18:00:41.000Z - Author: Guest Author - Tags: Crime, Santa Monica Airport, #archive-import, Homelessness *Police chief takes post overseeing airports’ security* *By CAROLYN SACKARIASON AND KEVIN HERRERA Daily Press Staff Writers* POLICE HDQRTS. — After 15 years on the job, Santa Monica’s top cop is stepping down. Santa Monica Police Chief James T. Butts Jr. announced on Wednesday that he plans to leave the department to head up security and law enforcement at four airports in Los Angeles County. “I’m very sad,” said Butts, reflecting on his departure. “I’ve been here 15 years and I think we have made fantastic accomplishments in public safety, but I’m 52, and if I want to go on to do another great thing, I have to be young enough to do it.” > “I’ve been here 15 years and I think we have made fantastic accomplishments in public safety.” — JAMES T. BUTTS JR. SANTA MONICA POLICE CHIEF As deputy executive director of airport law enforcement and protection services, Butts will oversee the nation’s largest airport law enforcement and security organization. He will be responsible for leading the more than 1,200 sworn and civilian personnel assigned to protect and serve at Los Angeles World Airports’ four airports — Los Angeles International (LAX), Ontario International (ONT), Palmdale Regional (PMD) and Van Nuys (VNY). LAX, ONT and PMD serve more than 68 million passengers a year, while VNY is the world’s busiest general aviation airport. Butts will start his new job later this summer. A nationwide recruitment for a new SMPD chief is expected to be launched in June and an executive search firm will be retained, according to city officials. Butts, who is currently making $177,000 a year as police chief hasn’t decided whether his departure will be in the form of a retirement, which would include a pension. He declined to say how much he will be making at LAWA because the compensation package isn’t final. Butts will lead the LAWA police and security forces assigned to the airports, as well as assume a pivotal role in collaborating and coordinating law enforcement and security duties performed by more than 4,000 federal and local officers. The largest of those outside agencies include the Transportation Security Administration, which includes 2,000 transportation security officers, and Customs and Border Protection, which has 800 sworn officers. Butts was approached in January by headhunters Bob Murray & Associates of Roseville, Calif., a leading search firm for high-profile law enforcement positions. Forty-eight applicants representing a wide range of law enforcement, security and aviation backgrounds were considered. “After a six-month nationwide search, we found the most qualified law enforcement professional for this important position right in our backyard, in the neighboring community of Santa Monica,” said LAWA Executive Director Lydia H. Kennard “We believe Chief Butts’ commitment to the concept of community-based policing combined with his outstanding record in public safety, recruiting, training and harnessing technology makes him the ideal choice for this position.” FIXING WHAT’S BROKEN Beyond ensuring the safety of travelers, Butts will be responsible for bringing 1,200 personnel under one umbrella in the organization, a challenge he welcomes. His master’s degree in business administration and his experience in administrative leadership will help in changing the culture and fixing systems within the LAWA, Butts said. “It is a management and leadership issue,” he said. “The reality is that most officers want to be respected and want to do a good job, and they want to receive the direction and leadership of where to go.” During Butts’ tenure, violent crime in Santa Monica has reached its lowest recorded level since 1957\. Additionally, the crime rate has been reduced 63 percent since 1993 and continues to decline. Still, for some Santa Monica residents, a lower crime rate doesn’t translate to feeling more at ease, particularly in the Pico neighborhood, where most gang-related shootings occur and violence continues to plague an eight-block pocket east of Woodlawn Cemetery, south of Michigan Avenue and north of Pico Boulevard. “Tell the mother of a young man who was killed that crime is down,” said Oscar de la Torre, an outspoken critic of Butts who runs the Pico Youth & Family Center, a non-profit organization.“The Pico neighborhood is still a victim of youth violence and all of the statistics will never heal the pain.” Despite saturation patrols and beefed-up enforcement, the Pico neighborhood is still the site of intermittent shootings among gang members who live both inside and outside of the city. Compared to Los Angeles, Butts said Santa Monica’s gang violence doesn’t rise to the same level. “I do not buy into the hypothesis that we have a gang violence issue,” he said Wednesday. “We have a problem in that we live in region where bad things happen and there are bad people. We have a problem with violence.” Butts admits homelessness has been a major issue facing Santa Monica’s population, a problem that has adversely affected the quality of life for residents. de la Torre, who is also a school board member, thinks Butts has done a good job in some respects, but feels more work needs to be done in the area of community-centered policing, which for the SMPD is referred to as “Neighborhood Centered Policing” and has been a top priority for Butts. “I think he came up short on that commitment,” de la Torre said.“But he has put more people of color in positions of power in the department and that’s a plus.” MORE HIGHS THAN LOWS Even though de la Torre has criticisms for Butts, he also believes he has character. The two adversaries met a couple of months ago to discuss racial tensions at Santa Monica High School and de la Torre walked away confident that their relationship had reached a new level of understanding. “I wish him well,” de la Torre said. “The bottom line is that his retirement opens the door to a real community dialogue in what we need for a chief of police.” Butts brushes off critics of the SMPD by highlighting the gains made. He is proud of the department’s track record and doesn’t apologize for the policies, programs and deployment tactics that have been instituted under his leadership. He said the high point of his career in Santa Monica has been making the community safer. “It’s knowing that I participated with the men and women in this department, in partnership with the community, in making Santa Monica as safe as it’s ever been,” Butts said. The lowest point of Butts’ career came on May 26, 2005, when one of his officers, Ricardo Crocker, was killed in Iraq while serving as a Marine reserve. Those who have served under him believe the SMPD is a stronger organization than it was before Butts’ arrival in 1991. “If this was a company that you bought stock in 15 years ago, you would be a rich man today,” said Sgt. Greg Smiley, president of the Santa Monica Police Officers Association.“I have nothing but good things to say, and I think the entire union would have nothing but great things to say. He was the reason I came here from the LAPD. My brother was here and I came here when I heard some of the things the chief was doing. It’s hard to summarize everything he’s done.” One of candidates the association would back as Butts’ replacement is Smiley’s brother, Capt. Mark Smiley. The other two are Capt. Jacqueline Seabrooks and Deputy Chief Phil Sanchez. The association will push for City Manager Lamont Ewell to promote from within the department. Santa Monica Mayor Bob Holbrook said he and Butts started in public service about the same time. He said he will miss their working relationship. “I called him this morning and it was hard to say good-bye,” Holbrook said. “I think he helped change the character of the department so that it became more reflective of the community. “As you know, he has maxed out his retirement benefits,” Holbrook added. “When people do that, it doesn’t make much sense to stay on the job. Evidently, he has found another job and now he can start a new phase of his career.” Before accepting his current position at Santa Monica in 1991, Butts served nearly 20 years at the Inglewood Police Department as a police officer, sergeant, lieutenant, captain and deputy chief. He has 12 years experience in SWAT as an operator, team leader and commander. *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on May 25, 2006.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/052506.pdf?ref=smdp.com)