Starting as a law enforcement explorer for the Los Angeles Police Department, Christopher officially started his career in 1986 as a LAPD station officer (or detention officer). From there, he joined the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department in 1989. After initially being assigned to the Inmate Reception Center, Christopher was assigned to the high security section of the North County Correctional Center facility.
Following an interview for the position of gang deputy, Christopher was appointed to Operation Safe Jail (Custody Gang Unit), where he was responsible for the interviewing, investigating, and housing of inmates who had gang affiliations. He was further tasked with providing weekly briefings to the command staff as a result of that position, and additionally acted as liaison with headquarter units, including Operation Safe Streets (OSS/Gangs), Homicide Bureau, Major Crimes Bureau, and other outside law enforcement agencies.
Receiving field training at Lennox Sheriff’s Station, Christopher began working other field stations including Lancaster, Palmdale, and Marina Del Rey. He spent several years in patrol, after which he returned to serve as the line supervisor for Operation Safe Jails. Under this position, Christopher employed his past gang deputy experience to oversee the hiring, training, and supervision of newly assigned gang deputies. While he enjoyed working with these young deputies and developing them for gang investigations, he yearned to return to communities he once patrolled and affect real change in the lives of those who lived there.
Deciding to follow that zeal for change, Christopher tested and was promoted to detective, then assigned to Operation Safe Streets/Gangs in Lancaster. He worked as a gang detective for several years before being selected by his captain to join a FBI-Joint Terrorism Task Force ( JTTF). Serving through JTTF, Christopher investigated hate crimes committed throughout the greater Los Angeles area for the next eight years before returning back to the LASD gang unit.
Though he was assigned to gang investigations, Christopher remained tasked with investigating hate crimes within LASD jurisdictions. With hate crimes becoming an ever-growing concern–not only in LA County, but nationally–it was clear that more needed to be done to address the rising issue. Around 2015, Sheriff McDonnell saw the need for a full time Hate Crimes Coordinator. Due to his knowledge and dedication, Christopher became the the first ever appointed to fulfill that new role.
Having both attended and conducted thousand of hours of gang and hate crime trainings to not only department personnel, but also to outside agencies on local and federal levels, Christopher became increasingly recognized as a leading expert in his field. He has instructed and attended trainings for major corporations, academy classes, neighborhood watch groups, schools, churches, and more. In support of the Stop Hate And Respect Everyone (S.H.A.R.E.) program–a program focused on equipping society’s youth to be leaders, teaching anti-bullying through respect of others–Christopher provided case examples and general input to help educate attendees. He has also assisted with V.I.D.A (Vital Intervention Directional Alternative), a program geared towards saving youth-at-risk lives by redirecting and preventing negative and dysfunctional choices.
Following his involvement in programs and trainings throughout the department and beyond, Christopher became fully recognized as Subject Matter Expert (SME) and appeared in the last two Police Officer Standard Training (P.O.S.T.) interactive hate crime telecourses, which have circulated to more than 900 Law Enforcement Agencies throughout the state of California. His expertise have also led him to testify in municipal, superior, and federal courts, serve on the Law Enforcement Advisory Council for the Anti-Defamation League-Los Angeles, and on countless panels, all as both a hate crime and gang expert.
As a result of his impact, Christopher has received countless awards and recognition from LASD and various other law enforcement agencies and groups.
