Paul Tanaka

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Paul Tanaka bigraphy, stories - California politician

Paul Tanaka : biography

1959 –

Paul K. Tanaka is an American politician and a law enforcement officer with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Tanaka currently serves as undersheriff of Los Angeles County. He is also mayor of the City of Gardena, California.

Elected official

Tanaka has been active in local government since his election to the Gardena city council in March 1999. In March 2005, he was elected mayor with 62% of the vote. He was re-elected to a second term in 2009.

Law enforcement

A career law enforcement officer, Tanaka initially joined the El Segundo police department in 1980. Transferring to the LA County Sheriff’s Department two years later, he rose through the ranks, earning his stripes in 1987, and making Lieutenant in 1991. Tanaka then rose from Lieutenant to Captain in 1999, Commander in 2001 and Chief in 2002., Los Angeles Times, April 14, 2003 From January 7, 2005 to June 2011, he was the an Assistant Sheriff. He is the first Japanese American in the position.

He has been criticized for his affiliation with the "Vikings", a secret police organization brought to light amidst police misconduct litigation in 1990. Sheriff Lee Baca acknowledged Tanaka still has a tattoo related to the group, which a federal judge described as "neo-Nazi, white supremacist gang." Tanaka was tattooed as a member of the Vikings deputy gang in 1987, while serving as a deputy at the Lynwood station.

On March 7, 1988, Tanaka was involved in a controversial killing of an unarmed Korean American in Long Beach, sparking outrage among Korean American community leaders.

Personal life

Tanaka was born at the Queen of Angels Hospital in Los Angeles. At the age of 7, he and his family moved to Gardena, where he has lived for 47 years.

Tanaka attended local schools and received an accounting degree from Loyola Marymount University and is also a Certified Public Accountant. He serves as Chief Financial Officer for the Go For Broke Foundation and the East West Players, and serves on the board of the Harriet Buhai Center for Family Law.

Tanaka is married to Valerie Tanaka, with whom he has 2 children.