Former Inglewood Police Chief Jacqueline Seabrooks swears in as the new Santa Monica Police Department Chief at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium on Tuesday, May 29, 2012. Seabrooks is the first female and 16th Chief of the Santa Monica Police Department.

Seabrooks, a 25-year veteran of the Santa Monica Police Department and Inglewood Chief for the past four and one-half years, was chosen after a three month, nationwide search.  

With extensive experience in both field operations and administration, Seabrooks has covered the spectrum of public safety posts from traffic safety to tactical commander, information technology to department collaboration with community partners. She has a strong track record in leadership, fiscal management and skill training initiatives.

“I am delighted to announce that Chief Seabrooks will return to Santa Monica to complete her remarkable career in law enforcement,” said Rod Gould. “Twenty five years in the Santa Monica Police Department, rising from Police Officer to Captain and holding numerous specialty assignments in between, have prepared her well to lead this department. Jacqueline Seabrooks’ four and one-half years as Chief of Police in Inglewood have tested her and proven her metal. While at Inglewood, she has provided great service to that community in stabilizing and improving law enforcement services, despite tremendous external scrutiny and budgetary pressures.”

“Chief Seabrooks distinguished herself in the selection process. I believe that she is the right person to lead the department in this second decade of the new Century and to make an already high performing Police Department even stronger. Chief Seabrooks has deep ties to the community and members of the organization and will be very active and highly engaged with both. Her integrity, leadership and judgment have been validated consistently over her nearly 30 years in law enforcement. We are fortunate that she will return to do her best work yet in Santa Monica.”

The City went to great lengths to seek top candidates for the Chief of Police from throughout the nation. The candidate pool was deep in executive level experience in some of the premier law enforcement agencies in the United States. To ensure that the process was as objective and comprehensive as possible, Santa Monica engaged the services of the International City County Management Association (ICMA) and International Public Management Association for Human Resources (IPMA-HR) to advise on the recruitment. This included conducting 35 interviews with members of the Police Department and the community to develop a profile of the Santa Monica Police Department and the desired traits and characteristics for the next Chief. It included development of a tool to screen the initial paper applications and phone interviews down to the 5 candidates who undertook a full day Assessment Center on March 27. The Assessment Center involved 6 exercises designed to replicate day to day challenges for the Police Chief in Santa Monica. The exercises were scored by specially trained raters from the community and organization. At the conclusion of the Assessment Center, the 2 top performers underwent additional interviews with the City Manager, City Attorney, and key staff.

“I am equally honored, humbled, and excited to accept this offer to work in the Santa Monica community as its next Chief of Police,” said Seabrooks. “I am particularly happy to be joining a community that is so involved and leading a Police Department with great achievements in public safety. ”

Seabrooks succeeds retired Police Chief Timothy J. Jackman.

As Chief of Police, Seabrooks will receive a salary of $238,752. She will manage a department with a budget of over $70 million and 443 employees, including 215 sworn spread across the divisions of Administration, Operations, Special Enforcement and Criminal Enforcement.

Seabrooks has a Masters Degree in Public Policy and Administration from California State University, Long Beach and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Public Administration from California State University, Dominguez Hills. She is a member of several professional associations including the International Association of Chiefs of Police, and she serves as a board member of the California Police Chief’s Association.

The Santa Monica Oceanaires sing the American Armed Forces Medley at Woodlawn Cemetery during the 74th Annual Memorial Day Observance on Monday, May 28, 2012.

Santa Monica High School student Eli Brown plays Taps  during the 74th Annual Memorial Day Observance at Woodlawn Cemetery on Monday, May 28, 2012.

Hundreds of flags wave in the breeze at Woodlawn Cemetery during the 74th Annual Memorial Day Observance on Monday, May 28, 2012.

Elisa Gemme  adds her foot prints onto Animal Kingdom’s multi-species community art project during  the Pico de Mayo festival at the Santa Monica Civic parking lot on Sunday, May 27, 2012.

Moviegoers watch 'Anchorman' on a giant 52- foot wide screen at Santa Monica High School's Greek Theater during the season kicks-off of 'Eat|See|Hear' on Saturday, May 26, 2012. The event featured Los Angeles’ favorite food trucks including Coolhaus, The Lime Truck, Flatiron Truck and more. Eat|See|Hear will be traversing Los Angeles, every Saturday night for seventeen straight weeks until September 15. Admission: $10 general admission, $20 fashionably late. Minimum age for this event is 13+.

Ryan Dewitt, 37, lifts 611.7 lbs during the Muscle Beach RAW Bench Press competition at Venice beach on Saturday May, 26, 2012.

“Gotta Dance! The Art of the Dance Movie Poster” is a special exhibition of vintage, rarely seen movie posters from the collection of creative director/designer Mike Kaplan.

Comprised of over 80 distinct pieces, GOTTA DANCE! features predominantly lesser-known American films coupled with a handful of more prominent titles, re-imagined by foreign artists and designers.  Nearly 80% of the posters in this exhibition were designed for foreign audiences and most were created during the Golden Age of Movie Poster design (1930-1950). Examples from Australia, South American and Europe stand beside their American cousins, signifying each film’s finest poster regardless of country. This exhibition will mark the first time that many of these movie posters will be revealed to an American audience.

Nothing encompasses California heritage better than the film industry.  California—Hollywood in particular—was the home and birthplace of many of the film industry’s leading production studios: MGM, 20th Century Fox, Disney, Paramount, RKO Radio Films and Republic Pictures being a few of the most notable. 

While the motion picture is recognized as the most influential art form of the 20th century, the movie poster has seldom received the recognition it deserves. Partially due to the commercial needs that must be considered in their conception—text in the form of slogans, title treatment and credits—movie posters have been viewed by many as nothing more than a sidebar of popular culture. This exhibition is an opportunity to focus on the movie poster as a unique and underappreciated art form.

The history of the movie poster runs in fascinating parallel to the history of film, not by merely reflecting the evolution of a new medium, but by expanding its visibility and captivating new audiences.  Design aesthetics and historic significance form the foundation of this dynamic exhibition.

The posters on view range from Singin’ In The Rain (1952) and Seven Brides For Seven Brothers (1954) to Funny Face (1957) and The Red Shoes (1948). Also showcased is West Side Story (1962)—the only poster to highlight Oscar-winners Rita Moreno and George Chakiris.  Additionally, Danny Kaye is represented as the neighboring Kid From Brooklyn (1946), depicted at the center of a colorful French lithograph, surrounded by a bevy of chorus girls inspired by Toulouse-Lautrec.

Signature pieces in the exhibition include: an original French-release poster for An American in Paris (1951), previously owned by Gene Kelly; a young, two dimensional James Stewart prominently dancing with three dimensional Eleanor Powell in Born to Dance (1936); an immaculate image of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in elegant evening attire for Carefree (1938); Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland in caricaturist Al Hirschfeld’s design for the rare American 40x60 version of Strike Up the Band (1940); plus the only poster to spotlight the Nicholas Brothers executing a dazzling, acrobatic tap routine in The Great American Broadcast (1941).

From Clara Bow and Marilyn Monroe to James Cagney and Elvis Presley, scintillating graphic design highlights many of the screen’s most talented star dancers and performers.  Additionally, GOTTA DANCE! presents vibrant posters featuring Gene Autry, Leslie Caron, Joan Crawford, Lena Horne, Betty Grable, Rita Hayworth, Audrey Hepburn, Frank Sinatra, Dick Van ****, Mickey & Minnie Mouse, and many others.


This exhibition is funded, in part, by grants from the Wells Fargo Foundation, the Ira M. Resnik Foundation, Inc., the LLWW Foundation, Dawson Design Los Angeles, Copyland Los Angeles, the City of Santa Monica Cultural Affairs Department, the Fairfield County Foundation, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Victorian/Calamigos Ranch, as well as generous corporate, foundation and private individual donations.

The exhibition runs through  September 30, 2012.

Santa Monica Police Officer’s, SMFD Firefighters and Police Activities League  (P.A.L.) members participate in the Rick Crocker Memorial "Hero Workout of the Day," on Thursday, May 24, 2012.

Rick Crocker was a former SMPD Officer and Marine who was killed seven years ago while serving in Iraq. The "Hero Workout of the Day" is named after those who have given their lives in the line of duty.

The movements in the workout (burpees, sit-ups, rope climbing, and running) were selected by those that had the honor of knowing Rick and felt they were something he would have done himself. But the most important aspect of this Hero WOD is not what is written on paper, it is the sense of community within the City of Santa Monica and joining together with the kids of Santa Monica PAL (Police Activities League) to overcome a difficult task.

Santa  Monica College  Professor Linda Yudin leads her Brazilian dance class at Santa Monica Beach on Wednesday, May 23, 2012. Casa del Mar seen  background.