Terry Hara
Terry Saburo Hara (born December 25, 1957) is an American police officer who spent his career with the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). He was the LAPD’s first Asian-American deputy chief and its first Japanese-American captain. He served in the LAPD from 1980 to 2015, becoming deputy chief on April 7, 2008, and serving in that role until January 31, 2015.
Hara was born in Long Beach, California, the son of Toshio and Yoneko Hara, and is a third-generation Japanese American. His father was a Terminal Island fisherman who was affected by World War II. Hara earned a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from National University and completed the Senior Management Institute for Police at Boston University. As a youth, he was a Police Explorer with the Long Beach Police Department and credits Officer Robert Schroeder with encouraging him to pursue a police career.
During his 35-year career, Hara held many assignments, including undercover narcotics, motor officer, bomb squad, Asian Crime Investigation, Fugitive Warrant, and counter-terrorism duties. He also led the Personnel and Training Bureau, Training Group, and Training Division, and commanded the Southeast and Wilshire Divisions. He finished as Deputy Chief and Commanding Officer of the West Bureau. He was the LAPD’s highest-ranking motor officer, and the department built a custom Harley-Davidson bike in his honor for the motor unit’s 100th anniversary in 2009; the bike was later retired from service and donated to the LAPD Police Museum.
Hara has been active in the community. He has served as president of the Terminal Islanders Association and as chairman of the LAPD Museum and the Japan America Society of Southern California. He has also led the Japanese American Optimist Club of Los Angeles, the Nisei Week Foundation (twice as president), and served on boards for Go For Broke National Education Center, the National Association of Asian American Law Enforcement Commanders, and the US-Japan Council, among others. He ran for Los Angeles City Council in 2013, but lost to Curren Price in the 9th district.
He has received several honors. In 2015, he was awarded the Japanese Order of the Rising Sun with Gold Rays and Rosette for his work with the Japanese American community. He has also earned the 2007 SoCal Cherry Blossom Festival’s Senator Daniel Inouye Leadership Award, the KCET Local Heroes Award in 2010, and the Community Leadership Award from the Japan America Society of Southern California in 2011. His LAPD career also included participation in major events such as the 1984 Summer Olympics, the 1987 Papal visit, the 1992 Civil Emergency, the 1994 Northridge earthquake, and the 2000 Democratic National Convention.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 08:15 (CET).