The California Highway Patrol’s Newhall-area office recently was assigned a new captain for its station, at least temporarily replacing longtime Capt. Ed Krusey.
Capt. Bob Purvis is currently leading the Central Los Angeles area, which he was appointed to in October 2024.
A 31-year veteran of the agency, Krusey has held the rank of captain since 2013, when he took control of the Los Angeles Communications Center. The following year, he was assigned to the Santa Clarita Valley’s Newhall-Area Office, which has its main office on The Old Road in Valencia.
Krusey has been on medical leave “for a few months” due to a work-related injury, according to Officer Carlos Burgos-Lopez, spokesman for the station.
Burgos-Lopez said the new appointment was made by CHP Commissioner Sean Duryee due to the prolonged absence.
Burgos-Lopez also said Krusey has the option to return. Purvis’ new command still becomes official Thursday.
Neither Krusey nor Purvis were available for comment for this story.
Krusey joined the CHP in 1994, according to his bio on the state’s website, which states that he grew up mostly in the Santa Clarita and Antelope valley regions and attended College of the Canyons.
Krusey joined the CHP’s academy after four years as an explorer. He became a sergeant in 2001, and then a lieutenant in 2007.
In 2013, he was assigned to the Los Angeles area, where he was responsible for day-to-day operations for the agency’s largest communications center, which included supervisory and managerial oversight of personnel/operations of the dispatch center, clerical support, the Traffic Management Center, freeway service patrol and the media information office.
He also previously served as an officer and then sergeant in Newhall, before he assumed command of the 700-mile area.
Purvis started with the CHP in 2002, according to his bio on the agency’s website.
Purvis started in the West Valley area, as part of the graveyard shift on the Strategic Operations or STOP, team, which “worked closely with the community to address issues regarding unhoused individuals, graffiti abatement, street racing and various issues within the Santa Monica Mountains,” according to the CHP’s website.
In 2008, he transferred to the Judicial Protection Section and worked with the California Supreme Court and California Court of Appeals.
After promoting to the rank of sergeant in 2013, he was assigned to Winterhaven, West Los Angeles, West Valley and the Judicial Protection Section.
He went to West L.A. in 2021 after promoting to captain and assisted command in preparing for Super Bowl LVI.
In October 2022, Purvis became executive lieutenant to the chief of the Southern Division. In October 2024, Purvis was promoted to captain and assigned to lead the Central Los Angeles Area.
Purvis has been a field training officer, an FTO coordinator, an instructor on officer safety, firearms and less-than-lethal weapons, as well a member of Southern Division’s Special Response Team, Impaired Driver Taskforce and Critical Incident Investigation Team.
