as New Board Chair
Lloyd Greif, President and CEO of Greif & Co., a leading Los Angeles-based investment banking firm, was elected as the new chair of the Los Angeles Police Foundation's Board of Directors. He succeeds Cindy Miscikowski who has served as chair of the Board for the past two years.
"Citizens of Los Angeles are fortunate to be served by the leading police force in the nation," stated Chair Greif. "With the City facing a dire fiscal crisis, and 96% of the City's funding of the Police Department going to payroll, that leaves precious little left over to maintain LAPD's state-of-the-art capabilities. That's where the Police Foundation comes in and that's the challenge we will meet and exceed over the ensuing months and years as we step-up our fundraising efforts for the Department."
Greif joined the Board of the Police Foundation and its Program Committee in January 2005. In 2007, he became a member of the Finance Committee and, in 2008, was appointed chair of the Program Committee and a member of the Executive Committee. The Program Committee is responsible for reviewing all grant proposals submitted by the LAPD for funding consideration.
"Given the profound budget cuts the Department has experienced and the impact it will have on our communities, the need for the Police Foundation as the major source of private financial support for the LAPD has never been greater," said Chief of Police Charlie Beck. "Lloyd's capable leadership will be an essential part of ensuring the Police Foundation remains an integral stronghold in the successes of the Department."
Lloyd Greif, a native of Los Angeles, is a widely respected investment banker who, in 1992, founded Greif & Co., an investment banking firm that serves the corporate finance needs of entrepreneurially owned and operated, middle market growth companies. Greif has built the firm into one of the leading purveyors of merger & acquisition and corporate finance advisory services to companies based in the western United States.
Greif has a lifelong dedication to philanthropy and public service in Los Angeles. These involvements include his service as Chairman of the City's Business Tax Advisory Committee and as past Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC). Greif is also a member of the Board of Directors of the California Chamber of Commerce, the Board of Leaders of the University of Southern California's Marshall School of Business, and the Board of Overseers of Loyola Law School. His wife, Renée, is a Specialist Reserve Officer with LAPD who led a team of reserve officers in creating and building the Department's landmark "iWatch, iReport, iKeep Us Safe" suspicious activity reporting counter-terrorism public awareness program.
for LAPD
(L-R) True Blue Co-Chairs Richard Kagan and Jim Wiatt, Ryan Seacrest, Tim Leiweke, Bernadette Leiweke and Chief Charlie Beck pose for a photo with the True Blue Award
The Los Angeles Police Foundation honored well-known Angelenos Bernadette and Tim Leiweke for their outstanding commitment to public safety and community development in Los Angeles at the 12th annual True Blue Gala on Saturday, November 5, 2011, atop L.A. LIVE’s Event Deck. The event marked the Police Foundation’s most successful True Blue gala to-date raising nearly $2 million to help fund essential equipment and programs for LAPD not provided for in the city’s budget.
Nearly 700 guests were in attendance including elected officials who had the opportunity to view and interact with the latest police technology, vehicles, weapons, anti-terrorism and crime-prevention equipment purchased by the Police Foundation for the LAPD.
Master of Ceremonies, host of Access Hollywood Billy Bush, entertained guests along with live entertainment from singer-songwriter Emma-Jane Thommen and special guest Ryan Seacrest, who presented the True Blue Award to the Leiwekes.
Click here to see more True Blue photos on our Facebook page.
82 LAPD officers are presented with
first-ever LAPD Purple Heart Award
Eighty-two Los Angeles police officers were honored on Thursday, September 15 with LAPD’s first-ever Purple Heart ceremony held to pay tribute to their acts of heroism and bravery that resulted in injury or death. Nearly 1,000 guests filled the Platinum Ballroom of the JW Marriott at LA Live for this somber ceremony including LAPD Chief Charlie Beck, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Los Angeles City Council members.
The medals for the 40 officers killed on duty since 1921 were accepted mostly by their sons, daughters, widows and parents. Approximately 40 officers who had been seriously injured were on hand to receive the award themselves.
During his address, Beck admitted that as a young cop, he couldn't relate to a civilian and the trauma they undergo when losing a police department relative. Now, with two children of his own on the force, he said he could fully appreciate what they endure.
The creation of a LAPD Purple Heart Award, Beck said, is an effort to symbolize not just the force's appreciation for the sacrifice of the injured or killed, but a gesture of love for the family members.
Among the 82 honorees were 72 incidents of bravery that occurred over a 90-year period dating back to 1921. Included in those incidences were the:
- 1923 killing of LAPD's first African-American police officer killed in the line of duty, Charles Williams
- 1963 execution killing of Officer Ian Campbell known as the Onion Field Killing
- 1986 incident where Detective Arleigh McCree and Officer Ronald Ball sacrificed their lives to save fellow officers while attempting to diffuse a booby-trapped bomb
- 1992 killing of LAPD's first female police officer killed in the line of duty, Tina Kerbrat
- Four police officers involved in the 1997 North Hollywood bank robbery shoot-out
- 2008 killing of LAPD's first SWAT officer killed in the line of duty, Randy Simmons
A highlight of the ceremony was when Chief Beck presented the Purple Heart medal to brothers Brandon and Landon Dorris, Jr., (pictured above) the two young sons of Officer Landon Dorris. Officer Dorris was killed on October 22, 2006, while he and his partner were investigating a traffic collision. The brothers received a standing ovation by the audience while accepting the medal on behalf of their father.
Take a look at photos and news coverage of the Purple Heart ceremony on Facebook.
Click here to download the Purple Heart Ceremony Program Book.
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