SAN BERNARDINO – In the span of the last century, the city has evolved from a dusty trading hub to a thriving community of 200,000 people.
But one thing remained the same: No black person had ever risen to captain in the Police Department.
Until now.
Police Chief Michael Billdt promoted Ted Henson, a 29-year department veteran, to the rank of captain at Monday night’s City Council meeting.
Henson, a 52-year-old Colton resident and father of two daughters ages 10 and 12, was also the department’s first black lieutenant.
Henson said the color of his skin is of little significance. His promotion is based on his devotion to the job, specialized knowledge and people skills, he said.
“Results are what matter. Outcomes are what matter,” said the tall, soft-spoken and affable Henson in his new office at the Police Department.
As captain, Henson will oversee the department’s administrative support services division that encompasses the personnel and training unit, the financial unit, police dispatch, the records bureau, volunteer services and the police firing range.
Some are duties Henson is already familiar with. As a lieutenant, he supervised the personnel and training unit and oversaw the recruitment of new officers, one of the department’s main orders of business.
The city is embarking on a mission to hire about 26 new police officers in the next 30 months, an effort funded through Measure Z, a quarter-cent sales-tax increase that will also bring in money for youth programs.
The city funded 14 police officer positions before the passage of Measure Z in November. The 26 new positions will be funded through the sales-tax revenues, officials said.
Part of Henson’s role in cleaning up San Bernardino will be seeing to it that the expansion goal is met by the 2009 target date.
And with the number of officers expected to retire in the next five years, the Police Department will actually need to hire about 116 new officers, Henson said.
“That is a very, very Herculean task, given the fever-pitched competitiveness of police officer recruiting,” Henson said.
Billdt expressed no doubt that Henson will rise to the level of expectation.
“Capt. Henson is a steadfast and loyal professional who’s dedicated to the principles of our profession and to the community we serve,” Billdt said.
“We go back to the late ’70s together. We worked patrol together. We worked specialized details, including narcotics. We served in a variety of capacities, including sergeants. He’s well prepared to assume this new role with the agency.”
Although Henson downplays the historical significance of his promotion, others have voiced enthusiasm over it.
“This adds much needed diversity to the management structure (of the Police Department),” Rikke Van Johnson, the only black person on the City Council, said at Monday night’s council meeting.
Johnson said that Henson’s promotion makes the department “more reflective” of the community it serves.
Officer Michele Mahan, who has been working with Henson in the personnel and training division for about two months, praised her boss for being honest and fair.
“He gives his employees credit for the hard work they do, and he gives us honest feedback of our strengths and shortcomings, which I think is important for a leader,” said the 11-year veteran of the Police Department.
She also worked with Henson when he was commander of the department’s Eastern District substation.
The Rev. Reggie Beamon, a longtime community activist in San Bernardino, said Henson serves as a role model to the community’s black youth who are coming of age in the city.
“I think it is a real positive sign for our young people to look at the opportunity afforded an African-American,” Beamon said, adding that Henson isn’t one to stay cooped up in his office administering.
“I see him all the time. He’s a very visible person in our community, and I think we’ll be seeing him a lot more,” Beamon said. “And he’ll have a bigger voice for African-Americans in the community.”
During Monday night’s council meeting, the Council Chambers were packed with people solely attending on Henson’s behalf, including a number of black community leaders.
One, the Rev. Joshua Beckley of Ecclesia Christian Fellowship, said Henson’s promotion was a major step forward.
“This is really a positive step toward meeting the challenges the Police Department has long had in terms of reaching the African-American community,” Beckley said.
“Not only is this a great step in enforcement of the law, but in the all-important aspect of community relations,” he said. “One hundred and one years was a long time.”
Henson began his career as a patrol officer in 1977 and was promoted to detective in 1985. He became a sergeant in 1986, the same year he earned a master’s degree in public administration from the University of La Verne. Previously, he earned a bachelor of arts in political science from Cal Poly Pomona in 1982.
In 2002, Henson got his lieutenant’s bars in a promotion met by a $1.25 million reverse-discrimination lawsuit filed by Sgt. Dale Blackwell, who charged he was better qualified for the job and that Henson’s promotion was a bow to political demands for more diversity.
The lawsuit failed.
Henson looks at it as a natural tendency of competitiveness.
“When it comes time to go to the next level, people are going to compete to the best of their ability, and they’re going to prepare and prepare and prepare,” Henson said. “It’s a human quality, and some people just handle it in different ways.
“It’s a competitive process. Life is a competitive process.”
Henson becomes the Police Department’s third active captain, joining Steve Klettenberg and Walt Goggin, also both longtime department veterans.
For man who once considered a career as an elementary school teacher, it seems fitting that Henson chose still another aspect of public service.
“I have been blessed with this opportunity. I care about helping others,” Henson said. “It’s been very life-affirming to have the life I’ve had.”
29-year veteran first black to rise to rank of SBPD captain
Joe Nelson and Robert Rogers, Staff Writers for the Daily Bulletin
This article first appeared in the Daily Bulletin online here.
Contact writer Joe Nelson at (909) 386-3887 or via e-mail at joe.nelson@sbsun.com.
Contact writer Robert Rogers at (909) 386-3855 or via e-mail at robert.rogers@sbsun.com
