PRESS RELEASE

Long Beach, CA – Today City Manager Tom Modica announced the appointment of Wally Hebeish as the new Chief of Police for the Long Beach Police Department (LBPD). Chief Hebeish, a 27-year law enforcement veteran and the current Assistant Chief of Police for Long Beach, will promote to Police Chief effective Jan. 1, 2022, following the retirement of Chief Robert Luna.

“It is a privilege to appoint Assistant Chief Hebeish to serve as the new Police Chief for our great city,” said City Manager Tom Modica. “Chief Hebeish possesses a thorough understanding of critical issues and priorities currently affecting our Long Beach community. He continues to lead and inspire our police department personnel and has been instrumental in implementing programs and initiatives that increase public trust surrounding equity and constitutional policing, improve employee wellness, and address crime in our community.”

Chief Hebeish has served as LBPD’s Assistant Chief since 2019, serving as second in command to Chief Robert Luna. As Assistant Chief, he has led Police Department operations through many unprecedented challenges as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and nationwide civil unrest while concurrently navigating the Police Department through complex staffing and budgetary adjustments. During his tenure in executive management, he has implemented strategies to reduce crime, address the nationwide increase in gun violence, enhance the Police Department’s Quality of Life team to provide further resources and support for people experiencing homelessness, all while also focusing key initiatives on strengthening police-community relationships and improving public trust. Additionally, he has provided leadership in policy development, risk management, organizational growth and budget management, and notably created LBPD’s Office of Constitutional Policing to rethink traditional policing, guide organizational progress, and implement goals to support the City’s Framework for Reconciliation.

"I am extremely grateful and honored for the opportunity to lead the employees of the Long Beach Police Department in serving our community. I look forward to building on the many advancements we have made under the guidance of Chief Luna and continuing our efforts in modernizing our organization in a manner that strengthens public trust, improves employee wellness, and demonstrates accountability and transparency. I would like to thank Mr. Modica for his confidence in my abilities to serve our community as a Chief of Police that will continue to align our organization with the principles of 21st Century Policing."

Prior to serving as Assistant Chief, Chief Hebeish served in other leadership roles within LBPD including Patrol Bureau Deputy Chief, Support Bureau Deputy Chief and Chief of Staff. He has worked a variety of assignments throughout his career and has extensive experience in the areas of criminal intelligence, investigations, patrol and internal affairs. He began his career in law enforcement in 1994 with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department and has served the Long Beach community with the LBPD since 1995.

Chief Hebeish holds a Master’s Degree in Communications with focuses in new media and marketing from Southern New Hampshire University and a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from California State University Long Beach. Additionally, Chief Hebeish is a graduate of the Major Cities Chiefs Association’s Police Executive Leadership Institute and has attended the Harvard University Public Safety Summit.

In October the City sought community input via a public survey asking community members what professional experience and characteristics they would like to see in the new police chief, which resulted in over 1,200 responses. After a nationwide recruitment and multi-step screening and interview process, including input from a technical panel, community panel, department head panel, and management panel, the City Manager selected Chief Hebeish as the City’s new Chief of Police.

The Long Beach Chief of Police oversees the second largest municipal police agency in Los Angeles County, with over 800 sworn officers and approximately 1,200 personnel, and provides law enforcement services to the seventh largest city in California, as well as contracted services to the Port of Long Beach, Long Beach Airport, Long Beach Transit and Long Beach City College. 

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