LAPD Command Staff

Ruthann Chavez

Bio

Captain Ruthann Chavez was born and raised in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles. Captain Chavez joined the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) family on August 5, 1996. She attended Moorpark College and California State University, Northridge (CSUN) where she earned her Associates, Bachelors, and Masters degrees in: Administration of Justice, Sociology, and Public Administration.

As a young police officer, Captain Chavez worked uniformed patrol and a variety of investigative, under cover, and specialized unit assignments while at Foothill, Van Nuys, Valley Traffic, and Gangs and Narcotics Division (GND). In 2006, Captain Chavez took her field experience and applied it to her role as a Field Training Officer in West Valley Division.

In 2007, Captain Chavez promoted to Sergeant where she began the next chapter of her career at Wilshire Division and then wheeled to Devonshire Division in 2009. As a Sergeant, she worked a plethora of assignments that included Patrol, GED, Detective Cross-Training, SLO/CRO OIC, Training Unit OIC, and Ombuds. In 2016, Captain Chavez returned to West Valley as a Sergeant II, Assistant Watch Commander (AWC). In late 2016, she became one of the first set of Sergeant II’s selected for the LA Mayor-directed creation of the Family Liaison Section, which operated out of the office of Chief of Staff (COS).

In June 2020, Captain Chavez promoted to the rank of Lieutenant and was assigned to Devonshire. As a Lieutenant, she had the opportunity to work as a Watch Commander, an Assistant Detective Commanding Officer, the Officer in Charge (OIC) of the Crisis Response Support Section (CRSS) out of Detective Support and Vice Division (DSVD), and the OIC of Central and Valley Sections out of Internal Affairs Division (IAD).

In February 2024, Captain Chavez was promoted to the rank of Captain, by Chief of Police Michael Moore, and began her first assignment as Patrol Commanding Officer at Pacific Division.

Captain Chavez a proud mother of her teenage son and daughter, a proud sibling of her brother who serves as Sergeant on the LAPD and the loving daughter of ultra-supportive parents who have resided in the City of Los Angeles their entire lives. Having been born and raised in the City of Los Angeles, and with a majority of family and relatives also residing in the City of Los Angeles, Captain Chavez considers herself a true stakeholder in the communities she serves and is dedicated to the Mission and Values of the LAPD.