Second in a series

Re “Azran Retires at Pinnacle of His Police Career”

Acting Asst. Police Chief Allen Azran retires on Thursday from the Culver City department, but at the primo age of 50 years and one week, he is not ending his career, just the Culver City dimension.

The department is smallish with relatively limited pathways for promotion – those impediments plus his eligibility for retirement prompted the 29-year veteran to branch out.

“I do believe I take with me a lot of experience, maybe a lot of insights I gained, judgments I gained with experience and tenure,” Mr. Azran said. “But others will not get that unless they are in my position. I think this is a good time to leave.”

Not quite so fast.

“It’s a little sad because I grew up here. I was a police officer here right as I turned 21.”

Mr. Azran said when he put on his Culver City police uniform for the first time at the beginning of 1988, “the city was different.

The erstwhile Valley boy remembers that 1988 was “an unknown quiet little city surrounded by Los Angeles. There were no restaurants then. Culver City was not a destination place as it is today.

“In those days, everybody would leave Culver City when it was time to go to dinner, go out of town, go on a night out.”

Notably articulate, Mr. Azran placed a special emphasis on each word he spoke,

“Obviously there have been dramatic changes,” he said.

“Crime is much – (he almost divided the last word into three syllables) – lower today than it was in 1988,” and therein lies a story.

(To be continued)