“License and registration. Proof of insurance.”
As university police officer Luis A. De Vivero examined the
documents he requested, the driver of a pickup truck waited
patiently, pulled over in front of Burger King.
De Vivero explained the situation to the driver and let him off
with a warning. His right taillight was out.
De Vivero returned to his car, shut off his cruiser’s
lights and turned the corner onto Le Conte Avenue. He continued on
his patrol.
It was another day in the life of a UCPD cop.
Every day, UCPD officers make patrols across UCLA’s
500-acre campus and surrounding neighborhoods. The police
department has been on campus since 1947, and has been changing
over the years.
“(UCPD) has a reputation for being a progressive police
department,” De Vivero said.
He said many programs and activities aimed at generating
discussion and cooperation between officers and community members
have been taken on by UCPD.
UCPD has started working with UCLA football players to help
consult and mentor them, both off the field and on the sidelines.
De Vivero stood with the team last Saturday in the game against
Oregon State University, serving both as their security and their
support.
But De Vivero said he knows that many students, when they
encounter law enforcement, respond negatively. He said he felt the
same way when he was younger, but has come to understand the
perspective of police.
Though many officers can be spotted frequently around campus, De
Vivero makes his rounds a bit further off-campus: approximately
three miles south of campus, where the University Apartments South
are located.
Riding along the various city streets, De Vivero might seem out
of his jurisdiction, seeing how his cruiser says “University
of California” on both sides, and campus is a good 10-minute
drive away, or 30 with bad traffic.
De Vivero said this is not the case. UCPD officers are given
police powers by Section 830.2 of the California Penal Code, De
Vivero said. In any situation that may require officers to respond,
De Vivero can take action.
But today, there was no crime requiring a response.
After clicking the gate-opener for the Sepulveda Apartments, he
rolled in and began inspecting the premises.
The University Apartments South, which are comprised of several
complexes and which house several graduate students who are married
or have families, experience several forms of property crimes and
domestic issues that UCPD officers respond to. He commonly deals
with situations in this area, as he is the lead officer for the
apartments.
Even though De Vivero holds a top position in the UCPD, he never
intended to become a cop.
“I wanted to be a firefighter,” he said.
In 1991, De Vivero was extremely close to being hired into the
Los Angeles Fire Department, after working in private emergency
response positions and completing a training program.
That same year, however, the LAFD had put a freeze on hiring,
and De Vivero was unable to become a firefigher.
But when his friend introduced him to the idea of law
enforcement, De Vivero took an interest.
He was eventually hired into what was at the time the
fifth-largest police department in Los Angeles county: the Los
Angeles Unified School District Police Department.
After serving for the school district for a few years, De Vivero
decided to leave that department for the UCPD.
That transition brought him to where he is today. Done with
patrolling the apartments, he made his way back north to campus.
Weaving in and around the winding roads that snake across and
throughout UCLA, De Vivero said his biggest pet peeve is when
drivers do not give pedestrians the right of way.
Of course, the oblivious pedestrians, iPod-in-ears and
coffee-in-hand, need to be careful, he said.
The end of his patrol had come. He parked his car in the UCPD
lot and entered the station.
It was another day in the life of a UCPD cop.