Gisselle Espinoza

• Rank: Commander
• Bureau: Office of Operations Homeless Coordinator
• Email: 31041@lapd.online

Bio

Commander Gisselle Espinoza has 30 years of proven experience in major city policing with the Los Angeles Police Department. She was born and raised in the Boyle Heights area of Los Angeles. She attended Roosevelt High School and went on to graduate from California State University, Los Angeles with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Public Administration. She is currently the Department’s Homeless, Youth Programs and Public Engagement Coordinator. Commander Espinoza has excelled in a series of progressively responsible assignments throughout her career, achieving results as a member of the Chief of Police’s senior staff. She is a highly balanced, service-oriented leader who consistently builds a strong integrity-based culture that balances employee wellness with the mission and goals of the organization.

Commander Espinoza is exceptionally balanced in operations, administrative functions/completed staff work, risk management/harm reduction oversight and possesses vast experience in the duties, responsibilities, and capabilities of an effective Incident Command System. She has in-depth institutional knowledge and first-hand experience with the Federal Consent Decree instituting and overseeing work product related to Constitutional Policing matters and serving as a member of a Department Board of Inquiry.

Commander Espinoza has exceptional public speaking skills, including in Spanish, with remarkable experience in community policing and building trust and relationships in our communities with constituents, stakeholders, places of worship, businesses, schools and other community-based organizations while engaging the public in problem-solving. Commander Espinoza has a unique ability to build trust and relationships with the community, while implementing community safety strategies that not only reduce violence and property crime but also foster trust and mutual understanding with members of the public. Her Mexican-American background and speaking Spanish, fluently, has contributed to Commander Espinoza’s success in connecting and building trust within the Hispanic community in the City of Angels.

Prior to joining the Department, Commander Espinoza started her career as a reserve officer in Rampart Area. Throughout the 30 years of her successful career, Commander Espinoza has worked in various Patrol Divisions spanning all four Geographic Bureaus and multiple specialized assignments, “Bureau” and “Office” level assignments, where she has consistently created an atmosphere conducive to innovative performance while continuing to integrate community policing, Constitutional Policing, and collaborative reform practices into our current policing models to build public trust and improve police-community relations and partnership-based policing. She has worked to enhance the effectiveness of the organization through compassionate and purposeful leadership to inspire and motivate our employees to realize their strength and full potential by modeling professional behavior coupled with accountability for adherence to performance standards and measures.

From the beginning of her career, Commander Espinoza has held the following assignments: Commander –Office of Operations, Department Homeless, Youth Programs, Public Engagement; and Reserves and Volunteers Coordinator; Commander – Assistant Commanding Officer, Operations Valley Bureau; Captain III– Commanding Officer, Community Safety Partnership Bureau; Captain II – Commanding Officer, Media Relations Division; Captain I – Patrol Commanding Officer, Harbor Division; Lieutenant II Officer-in-Charge, Community Relationship Division; Lieutenant I Watch Commander, Van Nuys Division; Sergeant II Commander’s Aide, Office of Special Operations; Sergeant II Commander’s Aide, Special Operations Bureau(now CTSOB); Sergeant II Officer-in-Charge, Gang Operations and Support Division (now GND); Sergeant I Bureau Gang Coordinator, Operations-Central Bureau; Sergeant I Patrol Supervisor, Northeast Division; Sergeant I Watch Commander, Jail Division; Sergeant I Patrol Supervisor, Hollywood Division; Police Officer III Field Training Officer, Newton Division; Police Officer II Patrol Officer, Newton Division; and Police Officer I Patrol Officer/Probationary, 77th Division.

Commander Espinoza has continued her education and has attended multiple courses and schools including certificate programs from Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations and the University of Southern California Sol Price School of Public Safety. She is a lifelong California native who is an avid runner and enjoys spending time with her family, friends, and two dogs.