Los Alamitos Chief of Police Michael Claborn will be the featured speaker at the October networking meeting of the Los Alamitos Chamber of Commerce this Friday, Oct. 6.
The meeting will be held at Maderas Steakhouse, located at 3642 Katella Ave from 7:30 a.m. until 9 a.m. The meeting is open to the public and the cost is $25 for members or military and $30 at the door for non-members.
Chief of Police Michael Claborn was born and raised in Huntington Park, California, before enlisting in the United States Army in October of 1990. After honorably serving his country, he started his law enforcement career with the Los Angeles Police Department in 1996. After just over four years he lateraled to the Santa Ana Police Department, where he served for 21 years. He rose through the ranks from Police Officer to Commander, receiving several commendations for leadership along the way. He supervised the Criminal Investigations Division, Homeland Security Division, Community Engagement, Emergency Management, Air Support, K-9 Unit, School Resource Officer, Reserves, and Volunteers. On January 24, 2022, he was appointed to serve as the 10th Chief of Police for the Los Alamitos Police Department.
Chief Claborn earned his Bachelor’s Degree and Master’s Degree from California State University, Long Beach, in Criminal Justice. He is a graduate of Golden West College’s Leadership Development Program, the Sherman Block Supervisory Leadership Institute, the West Point Leadership Program, and POST Command College. During Command College, he wrote an article titled, “Healthy Cops: Officer Wellness as a Condition of Employment”, which was published on the Police website. He also authored an article titled, “Suicide Awareness and Officer Wellness”, which was published on the cover of the Winter 2019 edition of the California Police Chiefs Association (CPCA) magazine.
He serves on the Officer Wellness & Resiliency Committee for the California Police Chiefs Association, he is the primary Chief of Police representing the Orange County Chiefs’ and Sheriff’s Association on the Orange County Emergency Management Council and Operational Area Executive Board, he is a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and the California Peace Officers Association (CPOA).
Locally, Chief Claborn has been a volunteer coach for the Friday Night Lights flag football league (Los Alamitos/Seal Beach) since 2019 and he serves on the Board of Directors and the Executive Board for the Casa Youth Shelter.
Chief Claborn reinstituted the School Resource Officer position, assigned an officer to the Orange County Auto Theft Task Force and is in the process of creating a motor officer and K-9 officer. Chief Claborn is on the verge of getting the Los Alamitos Police Department to its highest staffing levels in recent memory.