New Sheriff’s captain says he’s ‘up to the challenge’

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Lost Hills/Malibu Sheriff’s Station Capt. Joseph Stephen

Joseph Stephen, the new Lost Hills/Malibu Sheriff’s Station captain, says his father, a retired Sheriff’s detective’s sergeant, “made him the man he is today.”

By McKenzie Jackson / Special to The Malibu Times

Four years after working at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Lost Hills/Malibu patrol station as a lieutenant, Joseph Stephen is now the station’s top cop.

Stephen, who was promoted to captain on Dec. 18 by LASD Sheriff Lee Baca, took the place of Tom Martin, who is now the commander of the Sheriff’s Department’s Detective Division in Monterey Park.

Stephen, 49, was most recently the executive aide to LASD second-in-command, Undersheriff Larry L. Waldie, for eight months.

The 25-year LASD veteran is now the commander of 158 Sheriff’s Department personnel, who serve Malibu and seven other municipalities, including the cities of Calabasas, Hidden Hills and Agoura Hills, and the unincorporated communities of Topanga, West Hills, Chatsworth Lake Manor and Malibou Lake.

Stephen, who began work on Jan. 31, said he is enjoying his new position. “I have had a great first month here at Malibu/Lost Hills station,” he said. “I absolutely love my new position. Being the captain here as been a very positive experience; the community has welcomed me with open arms, making the transition effortless.”

Stephen’s promotion is the latest step in a law enforcement career that was inspired by his father Joseph Stephen Sr.’s successful 30-year stretch with the LASD.

The younger Stephen, who grew up in Compton, said his father, who retired in 1990 as a detective sergeant, was a mentor.

“There were very few African American police officers and Sheriff’s deputies in the 1960s in Los Angeles,” he said. “He was somewhat of a rock star in the community I grew up in.”

Stephen said his dad made him the man he is today.

“He has been very supportive throughout my career and is very proud of my accomplishments,” he said.

Stephen, a former college basketball player, began his career with the LASD in May 1984, a year after graduating from Texas Christian University in Fort Worth with a degree in criminal justice.

After graduating from the Sheriff’s Department’s 224th training academy, Stephen was stationed at the Biscailuz Center Jail in Monterey Park as a deputy sheriff for three years.

During his 16-year stint as a deputy sheriff he also worked as a detective, watch deputy and field training officer at the LASD’s Marina Del Ray station.

In 2000, Stephen was promoted to sergeant, and was stationed at the department’s Century City and Compton stations.

Stephen was promoted to lieutenant in 2005. In addition to serving at the Lost Hills/Malibu station as a lieutenant, Stephen also held assignments with the LASD’s Recruit Training Unit, Community College Bureau and the Office of the Undersheriff.

While rising through the ranks of the department, Stephen also received his degree in emergency management from Long Beach State University in 2004, and graduated from the state-run Sherman Block Supervisory Leadership Institute, a program designed to stimulate personal growth, leadership and ethical decision-making in California law enforcement frontline supervisors.

Stephen said his success in the LASD is due to hard work, determination and good people surrounding him.

“I have consistently found smart, dedicated, loyal, deputies, sergeants and professional staff to work with me at my various units,” he said. “They are really the reason I have been successful to this point.”

Since being promoted, Stephen said he has made no major changes at the Lost Hills/ Malibu station. He said the only notable thing he has done was approve the construction project that the deputies will undertake.

“They will be building a new patio area, which will include a BBQ, fire pit, and sitting area,” he said. “We should break ground in the next 30 days. The deputies here will be doing the design and all the work.”

Stephen took the reins of the Lost Hills/Malibu station weeks after the family of missing California State Fullerton graduate Mitrice Richardson filed a multimillion dollar lawsuit against Los Angeles County.

The lawsuit alleges that LASD personnel acted negligently when it released the 24-year-old from the Lost Hills/Malibu station at 1:25 a.m. on Sept. 17, 2009 with no car, phone or purse.

Richardson, who has since vanished without a trace, was arrested for not paying her $89 dinner bill at Geoffrey’s, a Malibu restaurant.

Stephen said he could not comment on the case because of the lawsuit, but did say that Sheriff’s deputies from the Lost Hills/Malibu station have been constantly handing out missing person flyers in an effort to locate Richardson.

While away from work, Stephen, a Northridge resident with his wife of 16 years, Sheila, enjoys watching college and professional sports, reading, exercising and spending time with his friends and family.

Stephen said the 180-square-mile radius his officers patrol and police is statistically a safe area, and the only crimes they mostly have to deal with are property, traffic and juvenile crimes.

“My goals are to maintain the safety and security and quality of life that our community has grown accustomed to over the years,” he said. “Capt. Martin did an outstanding job here at LHS. I know I have very big shoes to fill, but I’m up to the challenge.”