The Weekly Newspaper of El Segundo
Herald Publications - El Segundo, Hawthorne, Lawndale & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 109, No. 35 - August 27, 2020
Inside
This Issue
Certified & Licensed
Professionals.....................10
Classifieds............................4
Crossword/Sudoku.............4
Entertainment......................5
Legals.................................8,9
Letters...................................3
Obituaries.............................2
Pets......................................10
Police Reports.....................2
Thank You ES Fire Department
for All Your Hard Work
Strike Team XLG1361A is on 24 hour operational periods assigned to Division India of the Lightning Complex Fire. They are currently cutting line, handling spot fires and assisting Cal Fire with back-firing
operations for controlled burns. Photo courtesy El Segundo Fire Department.
Real Estate.............6-8,11,12 ESPD Officer Kaitlin Ross
Weekend
Forecast
Makes History in El Segundo
By Duane Plank
Oregon transplant Officer Kaitlin Ross
recently made history, becoming the first
female officer to patrol the pavement of our
city astride a motorcycle in the nearly 100
years that the ESPD has been in existence.
She joined a cadre of four other motorcycle
officers, all who are veteran law enforcers
with wide-ranging experiences.
Ross was born and raised in Oregon. After
completing high school, she attended Western
Oregon University in Monmouth, Oregon.
She received a degree in criminal justice and
interned at the Washington County Sherriff’s
department. While she was completing the
hiring process with the WCS department,
she discovered through a college criminal
justice career fair that there was a law enforcement
opportunity in El Segundo. She
applied, passed the initial testing, then was
asked to fly down to El Segundo to take a
physical test and participate in an in-person
interview session. She aced the interviews
and testing, then down the road, took off to
Europe for a backpacking excursion.
She initially received a conditional job offer
from the ESPD. The recent college graduate
was traveling through Europe when she was
again contacted by a representative of the
ESPD and asked to return to El Segundo
and finalize the hiring process and complete
required testing.
Ross hopped onboard a flight from France,
said she passed her testing requirements on
a Friday, and started her new patrol job on
a Sunday, and has not looked back since.
Ross said she became interested in pursuing
a career in criminal justice while she was
attending middle school. She said she took
courses that continued to pique her interest,
finally narrowing down her career ambitions
to law enforcement. She said she was looking
for a career where she could “make an
impact and help people.”
So how does a young woman from Oregon
end-up patrolling and safeguarding the streets
of El Segundo and making history? Well,
emailed ESPD Chief Bill Whelan, a lot of
the credit should go to now-retired ESPD
Sergeant Ed Villareal, who was at the time
supervising ESPD personnel and spearheading
recruitment efforts.
With many police departments all over
the country struggling the last few years
to attract new officers, and retain current
officers, Villareal tapped into a connection
that he had in Oregon, and Whelan OK’d a
recruiting trip to the Beaver State, something
he said that the ESPD had not tried before.
Whelan said that upon meeting Ross,
department personnel recognized that she
was “an outstanding candidate.” He said
Sgt. Villareal “immediately recognized she
possessed the mindset and the attributes we
are looking for in El Segundo.”
The ESPD moved expediently to buttondown
Ross’s hiring, a process that led to the
soon-to-be-ESPD officer to quickly return
from her backpacking trip to jet to the South
Bay and seal the deal.
Whelan marveled at the fact that Ross
was unfazed, in fact, relished, the whirlwind
recruitment process. “This is no small undertaking,
to be fresh out of college,” he said,
“and relocate away from family to begin an
incredibly stressful police academy.”
Whelan said that Ross immediately stoodout
at the academy with her “academic
prowess, physical fitness, and ethical courage.”
After graduating from the academy, Ross
aced the requisite field training program,
which, Whelan said, is “equally if not more
stressful” than the police academy. She began
her tenure with the department with an assignment
to the patrol division.
Whelan said Ross’ “work ethic is unparalleled,”
and that, early in her career, had set her
sights on becoming a motor officer and was
determined to develop the skills necessary to
achieve her goal. He said that when it came
time to test and select for the motorcycle
officer position, “she was an easy choice.”
Because of the pandemic, Ross, who has
been with the ESPD for two years, had to
postpone her motor school training, but finally
found a motor school in Anaheim that was
accepting students. Ross said that the motor
school comprised three weeks of “intensive
riding” with cone-patterns and training in
the canyons and local freeways.
“I am very proud of her, not just for
See Officer Ross, page 5
Friday
Partly
Cloudy
75˚/65˚
Saturday
Partly
Cloudy
76˚/64˚
Sunday
Partly
Cloudy
74˚/64˚