Ernie Matsumoto

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Ernie Matsumoto

Ernie Matsumoto is a proficient and proven leader who has more than three decades of law enforcement experience in high profile, critical roles ranging from criminal surveillance to high-profile internal affairs investigations. As a member of the Los Angeles Police Department for 33 years, Ernie worked his way up from a patrol officer to a senior-level leader who directed, managed, and contributed to some of the most influential projects and decisions to affect the LAPD. 

In the earlier stages of his law enforcement career, Ernie served in various vice-related roles in the crime-ridden Northeast and Rampart sections of Los Angeles. His excellent attention to detail, community policing, and supervisory skills enabled him to effectively run intricate operations related to curtailing street prostitution and closing nuisance businesses. His successful vice unit efforts later led to greater vice unit leadership roles, including vice coordinator for South-Central Lost Angeles, where he led 8 sergeants and 30+ officers divided between 4 units and led undercover sting operations. What’s more, Ernie was selected by LAPD executive leadership to serve as branch leader for high profile, heavily attended public events, such as L.A. Lakers victory parades and outdoor carnivals/raves at the L.A. Coliseum

Recognized as a leading investigator whose thorough approach complements his impartiality and confidentiality, Ernie also led and contributed to various sensitive internal affairs investigations, including investigations related to high-profile figures, police wrongdoing, and the Rampart Corruption Scandal. While serving in various internal affairs investigative roles, Ernest reviewed and audited more than 2,000 citywide complaint investigations. 

Additionally, while assigned to the South-Central Los Angeles area, Ernie served as the Officer-in-Charge for all internal (non-criminal) complaint investigations by providing oversight to 12 supervisors in completing thorough and timely investigations.  

Ernie’s ability to recognize problems and engineer solutions enabled him to put policies, procedures, and processes in place that enabled the LAPD Narcotics and Vice division to gain formal consent decree compliance for confidential informant practices. He comprehensively reviewed all policies and procedures, analyzed previous audits, and determined issues that led to non-compliance. He then re-engineered processes to address the deficiencies and gained compliance.

Ernie was also selected to lead a LAPD employee relations group tasked with analyzing, interpreting, communicating, and recommending revisions to the certified Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the LAPD line personnel and Los Angeles City management. He managed a unit of 9 multi-disciplinary supervisors and promoted harmonious operations between city managers and union-representatives, sworn city police officers by carefully considering guidelines, issues, policies, and procedures relating to scheduling, hours, wages, and other conditions of employment. 

Post active LAPD, Ernie joined the City of Los Angeles Dispute Resolution Program in 2016, where he participated in dozens of community mediations and conciliations resolving a myriad of social, economic and relationship-based conflict issues.  In 2019, as a civilian employee, Ernie returned to the workforce with LAPD as a police background investigator in an effort to hire candidates that he could trust to do the job right.

Ernie holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Criminal Justice from California State University of Long Beach and has completed various law enforcement leadership courses.