LA Metro names former San Francisco chief of police as head of in-house police department
LA Metro has selected former San Francisco Police Chief William "Bill" Scott as the leader of its new in-house police department.
Scott will serve as Metro's first Chief of Police and Emergency Management for the Transit Community Public Safety Department -- marking the start of Metro's transition from contracting outside law enforcement agencies.
"This role spoke to everything that I am about and everything that I care about- a chance to create something lasting. To build something better, and while doing something I've spent my whole career doing, protecting people from harm," Scott said at Wednesday's announcement ceremony.
Metro Board Chair and Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn said Scott just announced his retirement as chief of police for the San Francisco Police Department on Wednesday.
"We're very excited today to congratulate and welcome Chief Bill Scott back to Los Angeles," Hahn said. The new chief had served with the Los Angeles Police Department for 27 years before his eight years in San Francisco.
Metro approved the establishment of its own police department in June 2024, thereby phasing out partnerships with the Los Angeles sheriffs and police departments and the Long Beach Police Department.
It was determined that returning to in-house policing would better serve the system and its unique challenges, increase safety and provide cost savings. "This is an ambitious and essential undertaking, especially for a system as large and complex as Metro, and success starts with leadership," Hahn said.
As chief, Scott is tasked with building the department from the ground up, overseeing everything from command staff selection, training standards, uniform selection, technology systems, and deployment strategies.
"His experience leading reform in San Francisco, coupled with his decades of service in our own neighborhoods with LAPD, make him uniquely qualified to deliver the safe, responsive, and equitable security system our riders deserve. This is a defining moment for Metro's public safety strategy," Stephanie Wiggins, LA Metro CEO said.
Scott was the longest-serving police chief in San Francisco's history. As chief of SFPD, he also oversaw safety and security on the city's Muni system. "Over his tenure, crime on their transit system has decreased precipitously – just 2.3 crimes per 100,000 miles of travel in March 2025," Metro wrote in a news release.
Former mayor Landon Breed thanked Scott for his extraordinary service. "Under his leadership, crime in San Francisco dropped to historic lows," she wrote on X.
Scott's duties in Los Angeles are to begin on June 23.
Between 1989 and 1997 Metro had its own police, the MTA Transit Police Department. In 1996, the Metro Board chose to merge its MTA police with LAPD and LASD and contract with these agencies for policing services.
