Foothill Division Gets New Commanding Officer : Police: Capt. Ronald Bergmann, taking over from retiring Capt. Gus Drulias, promises to provide continuity in community relations.

PACOIMA — Returning to the place were he began his career as a patrol officer 21 years ago, Capt. Ronald Bergmann officially took over as commanding officer of the Foothill Division of the Los Angeles Police Department on Friday.

Bergmann, 48, replaces Capt. Gus Drulias, who retired after more than 30 years of service to the LAPD and 10 months as head of the Foothill Division.

Bergmann, formerly commanding officer of Valley Traffic, said he is happy to be able to come full circle and lead the division that gave him his start.

He said he has no plans of retiring anytime soon and plans to work closely with Foothill residents to improve on the community policing efforts of Drulias.

Officer Michael Windsor, who worked closely with Drulias at Foothill, said Drulias wanted to improve relations with the public, especially in light of the Rodney King beating in March, 1991, in Lakeview Terrace.

“Gus wanted to focus on improving the department as a whole, especially in community relations,” he said.

Earlier this week, Bergmann met with members of the Foothill Community Advisory Board to ease their fears about the change in administration.

“The first thing that residents in the community wanted to know was if I was going to be here longer than 10 months,” Bergmann said. “They want some continuity.”

Lt. Dan Hoffman of the Valley Bureau, which oversees Foothill, said Bergmann brings a “sincere commitment to work with the community.”

A native of Chicago, Bergmann came to Los Angeles 21 years ago after serving in the military. He has worked as a detective in the Hollywood Division and served for four years on the security planning commission for the 1984 Summer Olympics.

Drulias, described by his peers as a well-respected officer, served in nearly every capacity during his 33 years with the department. He worked as a patrol officer, detective and in both vice and narcotics. Before heading to Foothill, he worked in the Van Nuys Division for three years.

According to officers, Drulias decided to retire after he was offered a lucrative job in the private sector.

“It was a totally personal decision and has nothing to do with the department itself,” Hoffman said.

Officers in the Foothill Division said Drulias was the consummate police officer, always careful to represent the department with pride.

“Gus Drulias is a gentleman,” Hoffman said. “I’ve never seen him lose his temper. He’s very cordial and always handles things in a professional manner.”

According to Hoffman, Drulias was born to be a policemen. His brother and uncle were officers and his son works in the Van Nuys Division.