Behind the Badge
His is an American story. More important, it’s particular to Santa Ana.
So, when the time came to announce Robert Rodriguez for the first time officially as the 22nd Chief of Police for Santa Ana, new City Manager Alvaro Nuñez came up with a unique suggestion for a venue.
Rather than the stuffed and stuffy confines of City Hall or one of the city’s lavish event spaces, Nuñez suggested returning to Rodriguez’s roots.
Santa Ana Police Chief Robert Rodriguez speaks during a ceremony at Russell Elementary Language Academy in Santa Ana Calif., as he formally advanced from acting to full-time chief Monday December 17, 2024.
Photo by Stephen Carr
On Monday, Dec. 17, Rodriguez went home again to the blacktop of one of his grade schools, Russell Elementary Language Academy, to be announced as the new full-time Chief of Police for the city of 300,000 that is Orange County’s seat.
The usual complement of dignitaries was on hand, including Mayor Valerie Amezcua, Santa Ana City Councilmembers, board members of the Garden Grove Unified School District, and Rodriguez’s family, including his wife, Rachel.
What made the event even more special, however, were the kids, who honored the dignitaries with the Pledge of Allegiance, school cheers in English and Spanish, then settled in to hear about the new chief and maybe gain some inspiration for their own futures.
Mayor Amezcua said she couldn’t think of a better way to acknowledge Rodriguez’s accomplishments than to announce it where he spent formative years.
“Look at where he is now,” she said.
Santa Ana Mayor Valerie Amezcua speaks during a ceremony for acting Santa Ana Police chief Robert Rodriguez, center, as he is formally announced as new chief, at Russell Elementary Language Academy in Santa Ana Calif., Monday December 17, 2024.
Photo by Stephen Carr
Immigrant roots
Born in Tijuana and coming to the United States as the child of undocumented immigrants, Rodriguez was raised in circumstances many of the children at the school understand well.
“It felt emotional but inspiring for me,” said Rodriguez, who attended 10 different schools in the Santa Ana area and surrounding cities before entering the Marine Corps after high school.
Like many immigrant families, the Rodriguez clan was constantly being uprooted as they struggled with poverty and sought stable housing.
However, Rodgriguez came of age in the heart of the Santa Anita neighborhood in West Santa Ana, where he was a student at Russell from fourth through sixth grades.
“When I was little, I never thought this would be me,” Rodriguez said.
“My past has built a lot of resiliency in me,” Rodriguez told “Behind the Badge” in 2021. “We moved around a lot. I had a very unstable home life.”
Nuñez, who is a big proponent of community engagement with police, said holding the announcement in the neighborhood reinforces the connection.
Likewise, Rodriguez is a strong proponent of community policing, which he says is at the heart of the SAPD.
Having Rodriguez as a living example of heights to which the kids can aspire was just a bonus.
“We forget sometimes how we were raised and how it shapes our perspective,”Nuñez said. “(The Chief) was raised in the heart of Santa Ana. Many of these children may have the same aspirations, you never know. He’s a real representative of the community. He is a rags to riches story.”
It was a point Mayor Pro Tem Thai Viet Phan, herself a Russell grad, made to the kids.
“I’m so proud that our chief of police, Chief Rodriguez, is a Ram,” she said, referring to the school mascot. “Isn’t that exciting? He was one of you, and you can grow up to be the chief of police.”
Students recite the Pledge of Allegiance at the start of a ceremony where Santa Ana Police acting chief Robert Rodriguez was formally announced as new chief, during a ceremony at Russell Elementary Language Academy in Santa Ana Calif., Monday December 17, 2024.
Photo by Stephen Carr
Coming home again
Rodriguez has always considered Santa Ana his home. Even though his family spent stints in Fullerton, Garden Grove and Anaheim, they worked to keep the family in the same school district for a sense of normalcy.
“We always returned to Santa Ana,” he said.
Rodriguez spent six years in the Marine Corps, being promoted to Sgt., and was deployed overseas where he was part of several operations, such as the evacuation of diplomats from the U.S. Embassy in Mogadishu, Somalia, and Desert Storm in Iraq.
Rodriguez joined the Los Angeles Police and was in the academy within a month after leaving the Marines. After working in Watts and Boyle Heights and in gang units in Los Angeles, Rodriguez “came home,” joining the Santa Ana PD, where his brother Leo was an officer, in 2000. Starting in patrol, he steadily climbed the department ladder.
Along the way he also earned advanced degrees, including a Masters in Public Administration from USC. He has also completed coursework for a doctorate from the school and needs only a dissertation to complete his studies.
Rodriguez had been serving as acting chief since Nov. 2, 2023.
“True leaders, they just do the job. They’re servant leaders,” Amezcua said, adding that Rodriguez is always asking how he can help.
Santa Ana Police Chief Robert Rodriguez poses for a photo with fellow top brass, after Rodriguez was formally announced as new chief, during a ceremony at Russell Elementary Language Academy in Santa Ana Calif., Monday December 17, 2024.
Photo by Stephen Carr
“That’s what I’ve seen in the last year with his leadership,” she said. “Because leadership is not something everyone has. You see it, because you don’t have to say anything, you just do it, and it’s recognized.”
Councilmember Phil Bacerra, another product of Garden Grove District schools, said returning to Russell had great symbolism and symmetry.
“It’s a real Santa Ana story,” he said. “He’s come full circle.”
Santa Ana City Manager Alvaro Nunez formally announced Robert Rodriguez as the new Chief of Police for the City of Santa Ana, during a ceremony at Russell Elementary Language Academy in Santa Ana Calif., Monday December 17, 2024.
Photo by Stephen Carr
From left to right, Makayla Rodriguez (daughter), Santa Ana Police Chief Robert Rodriguez, and Robert Rodriguez Jr. (son) pose for a photo after Chief Robert Rodriguez was formally announced, during a ceremony at Russell Elementary Language Academy in Santa Ana Calif., Monday December 17, 2024.
Photo by Stephen Carr
Santa Ana Police officers hand out stickers to students before the start of a ceremony where Santa Ana Police acting chief Robert Rodriguez was formally announced as new chief, at Russell Elementary Language Academy in Santa Ana Calif., Monday December 17, 2024.
Photo by Stephen Carr
