MICHAEL E. SODERBERG PROMOTED
TO CHIEF OF DETECTIVES

Michael E. Soderberg, a 32-year veteran of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, was recently promoted to the rank of Chief by Sheriff Lee Baca and oversees the Detective Division.

Chief Soderberg's career with the Sheriff's Department began in 1970, as a Reserve Deputy, while he was a Personnel Analyst with the Department of Personnel, in charge of the Department's entry level and promotional testing programs. In 1972, he joined the Department full time. Chief Soderberg has worked many assignments at a variety of ranks in Field Operations, Custody Division, Detective Division, and the Executive Offices. He is an experienced veteran of major incidents, such as the Beverly Hills/Iranian riots in 1979, the Los Angeles riots in 1991, the 1993 Lost Hills Fire, the 1994 Northridge Earthquake, and the 1996 Calabasas Fire. In addition, and due to his demonstrated expertise in major incident command, he was named a Field Commander of Y2K and the Democratic National Convention. Since being promoted to Commander in 1999, he directed the assessment and long-range plan for the re-engineering of Personnel Administration, acted in the role of the Department's Night Tactical Commander, and served as second in command to the Chief of Detective Division. He was also a co-author of the Department's original Core Values and its force policy. In the recent past, he has been the recipient of both the Department's Distinguished Service Award and Career Achievement Award.

Chief Soderberg holds a Master of Arts Degree in Public Administration from Pepperdine University and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science from the University of California at Los Angeles. He holds teaching credentials for, and has taught at, the elementary, high school, community college, and university levels. He has an international reputation and recognized expertise in a variety of topics such as major incident management, police use of force, investigations, litigation strategy, management and supervision.

Chief Soderberg resides in Upland. He is single and has two daughters of whom he is quite proud: Kristen, 27, who recently received her Master's Degree in Real Estate Development from USC and is employed by Gilmore Associates, redeveloping downtown Los Angeles; and Beth, 24, a graduate of the University of Colorado at Boulder, majoring in Dance and Musical Theater, a Pilates instructor and an aspiring singer-dancer-actress. His father, Will, eighty-one years young and his wife, the former Gene Siennes, live in St. Helena in the Napa Valley. In his rather limited spare time, Chief Soderberg is an avid fan of UCLA athletics, serves on the Board of UCLA's Political Science Associates, operates his own consulting business, plays golf, collects art and dabbles in astronomy and archeology.

SHB-75A-02

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October 2, 2002