Capt. Joseph A. Badali will formally take command of the Avalon Sheriff’s Station on March 26, according to Mayor Anni Marshall. Capt. John Hocking will then officially begin his retirement.
Badali has already taken up the duty of writing the Sheriff’s Log for the Islander. (See page 2)
Marshall introduced Badali to the community during her weekly Wednesday “Minutes with the Mayor” broad cast. Badali approached the podium in the City Council Chamber, took off his mask and briefly spoke about himself to the community.
“I’m a 32-year member of the Sheriff’s department,” Badali said. He has served as a captain on the mainland—which he called “overtown,” local slang for the mainland.
He said it was his honor to build on the 58-year contract relationship between Avalon and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
He said he is committed to community policing.
“We are one with the city; one with the community,” Badali said.
(“Community policing is a philosophy that promotes organizational strategies that support the systematic use of partnerships and problem-solving techniques to proactively address the immediate conditions that give rise to public safety issues such as crime, social disorder, and fear of crime,” according to the U.S. Department of Justice.)
“Public trust and transparency are very important to me,” Badali said.
He also said that body cameras would be deployed on Catalina Island.
As to the immediate future, some members of the Avalon Station will be leaving, and Avalon will see some new faces at the station. Badali said he is looking forward to working with the community. He asked the public to call the station if they anything they see that is suspicious.
