Bernard C. Parks (born December 7, 1943) is an American politician who served as a member of the Los Angeles City Council, representing the 8th district in South Los Angeles from 2003 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, Parks served as Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department from August 1997 to May 2002.

Quick Facts Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department, Preceded by ...

Bernard C. Parks
Parks in 2010
Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department
In office August 12, 1997 – May 4, 2002
Preceded by	Willie L. Williams
Succeeded by	William Bratton
Member of the Los Angeles City Council from the 8th district
In office July 1, 2003 – July 1, 2015
Preceded by	Mark Ridley-Thomas
Succeeded by	Marqueece Harris-Dawson
Personal details
Born	(1943-12-07) December 7, 1943 (age 80) Beaumont, Texas, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Bobbie Parks
Residence(s)	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Alma mater	Pepperdine University University of Southern California
Occupation	Police officer (LAPD)
Website	www.bernardparks.com
Police career
Country	United States
Department	Los Angeles Police Department
Service years	1964–2002
Rank	Sworn in as an Officer – 1964 Sergeant – 1969 Lieutenant – 1973 Captain – 1977 Commander – 1980 Deputy Chief – 1988 Asst. Chief – 1992 Deputy Chief – 1994 Chief of Police – 1997

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Parks is a graduate of Daniel Murphy High School and attended Los Angeles City College and received a bachelor's degree from Pepperdine University. He earned a Master's Degree in public administration from the University of Southern California.^{[citation needed]}

During his tenure, the LAPD was rocked by a corruption and police brutality scandal involving the elite C.R.A.S.H. anti-gang unit of the Rampart Division in the overwhelmingly Latino Pico-Union and Westlake districts.^{[citation needed]} The Police Commission, under Commission President Rick J. Caruso did not recommend Parks for reappointment as police chief. Parks was succeeded as chief by William Bratton.^[1]

In 2003, Parks won the seat on the Los Angeles City Council for Council District 8 representing South Los Angeles.^{[citation needed]} He also unsuccessfully ran for the post of mayor in the 2005 elections, coming fourth in the primary. In 2008, Parks unsuccessfully sought to succeed Yvonne Brathwaite Burke on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, losing to Mark Ridley-Thomas in a runoff election.^{[citation needed]} Term limits forced Parks out of the city council office in 2015. Marqueece Harris-Dawson won the District 8 election for the vacant seat, and replaced Parks on 1 July 2015.^[2]