Paul Tanaka

Paul Tanaka, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s second in command who oversaw the agency’s troubled jails, announced his retirement. The first Japanese-American commander at the department, Tanaka holds 32 years of experience in the security industry. The law enforcement officer started out at the El Segundo police department in 1980 and later transferred to the LA County Sheriff’s Department, where he rose through the ranks, making lieutenant then captain and eventually became commander and chief. By 2005, Tanaka served as the assistant sheriff at the department.

Tanaka created the Asian Crimes Task Force in the 1990s to target criminals preying on the Asian community in attempt to built trust for law enforcement. More recently, he directed the Gang Crimes Enforcement Program, meeting with captains to focus on reducing gang murders.