Captain Robert Lewis, newly-named top cop for the Santa Clarita Valley, is precisely what city officials were looking for – veteran cop, longtime resident, family man.
“Captain Lewis was our preferred candidate,” Ken Striplin, city manager for the City of Santa Clarita, told The Signal Friday.
“The city was looking for a candidate that had a clear understanding of the public safety issues within the Santa Clarita Valley,” he said. “Someone who had a broad base of experience to draw from in coming and developing programs and initiatives that would enhance Santa Clarita’s quality of life, someone who was vested in the community and someone who could work successfully with all the stakeholders that encompass the valley.”
City officials announced Friday that Captain Robert Lewis had been selected as the new Captain for the Santa Clarita Valley station and that he brought 31 years of law enforcement experience with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department to the post.
More than that, however, Lewis was decidedly and without question, deeply invested in the Santa Clarita Valley.
City officials pointed out in their news release that Lewis lives in the Santa Clarita Valley with his wife and three daughters.
“Captain Lewis has lived in the community for over 50 years,” Striplin said. “ He has a vested interest in preserving the quality of life – as he lives here and is raising a family here – and has that broad-based experience and is very familiar with the issues and needs of the Santa Clarita Valley.”
County officials also lauded Lewis’ appointment and the fact that he’s from the SCV.
“With 31 years of law enforcement experience and a passion for public safety – especially here in our Valley – Captain Lewis will be a tremendous leader for the Santa Clarita Valley station,” Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger said in a written news release Friday.
“I join with our partners at the City of Santa Clarita and the Sheriff’s Department, who share in our mutual efforts to enhance the public safety needs of our residents across the Valley, in welcoming Captain Lewis to his new post.
“I look forward to working with him, she said.
Robert Lewis replaces Sheriff’s Captain Roosevelt Johnson who was recently promoted to Commander. Johnson served as the Chief of Police for the Santa Clarita Valley Station since 2014.
Lewis began his law enforcement career in Santa Clarita as a Law Enforcement Intern. Since then, his career has taken him throughout Los Angeles County, with stints in Malibu, West Hollywood and Altadena.
He spent several years at the Santa Clarita Valley Station, which he will now oversee, most recently from 2007-2014.
He also spent the last year as a Lieutenant at the Training Bureau, in the Advanced Officer Training Unit.
Lewis has a Bachelors in Science, Vocational and Occupational Studies from California State University, Long Beach.
“I have always sought assignments, which would maximize my knowledge to benefit the community I serve, the Department, as well as further my own personal growth,” Captain Lewis was quoted as saying in the city’s news release.
“I am certain that the knowledge, skills and abilities I have gained will allow me to be an asset to the Santa Clarita community,” he said.
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