By Lookout Staff

March 4, 2016 -- Johnnie Adams, a 32-year veteran of law enforcement, was sworn in by the Board of Trustees Tuesday as Santa Monica College's new police chief.

Adams -- who most recently served as deputy chief of operations at USC's Department of Public Safety -- will oversee safety, law enforcement, emergency preparedness operations and parking on SMC's main campus at 1900 Pico Boulevard and on satellite campuses throughout the city.

Adams will replace former chief Albert Vasquez, who left last year to became police chief at the University of California, Merced, after leading the SMC force since 2008. SMC President Dr. Kathryn E. Jeffery said of Adams, “I am confident that his leadership and breadth of experience will add to the exceptional team of officers and personnel who are already here at the SMC Police Department, and that he will continue to uphold what is most important to us: the safety and wellbeing of our students and employees.”

New Santa Monica College Police Chief Johnnie Adams. Photo: courtesy SMC

“I am honored to be the new chief of police at the Santa Monica College Police Department,” said Adams. “Working with a premier group of professionals to ensure the safety of the campus community will be my top priority, and I am truly blessed to be a member of the SMC family.”

At USC, Adams was in charge of police patrols, detectives and special events and supervised some 200 employees at the University Park and Health Sciences campuses.

Adams began his career in 1983 as a student community service officer at the Police Department at UCLA, where he received a BA in Political Science, college officials said. After attending the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Academy, he returned to UCLA to work in the patrol division.

During his 29-year tenure, Adams worked his way up the ranks to captain, overseeing the UCLA Police Department’s support and field operations bureaus, officials said.

Adams holds an executive management certificate from the UCLA Anderson School of Management and is a graduate of the FBI National Academy Associates (FBINAA), college officials said.

He currently serves on the National Executive Board of the FBINAA and is a past president of the FBINAA California Chapter. In 2012, Adams received the Merit Award in 2012 by the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators (IACLEA).