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Before his three terms as CD8 councilman, the 71-year-old spent 38 years with the LAPD. Parks left the assembly line at a GM factory when he was 21 to become an L.A. police officer.

Within 6 months, Parks was a contributing part of the force that attempted to control the Watts riots.

Parks served with the LAPD during the Watts riots in August, 1965 and the L.A. riots in 1992.

In 1997, Parks was appointed police chief of the LAPD by then-mayor Richard Riordan.

During his tenure, Parks received unrivaled accolades and unusual ones.

As police chief, he created what is believed to be the first cold-case unit in the nation and fired 130 police officers for misconduct. He was even named one of People Magazine’s 50 Most Beautiful People. 

However, his career came to a halt when his granddaughter Lori was killed while an innocent victim in a gang-related attack.

He credits his wife, Bobbie, for getting him through this difficult time in his life.

“Bobbie was a mainstay,” said Parks in an interview with CBS. “She was the one that kind of pulled it all together. Kept everybody in tone.”

Bernard and Bobbie have been married for almost 50 years. He met her on the job while he was directing traffic downtown.

“And so she rolled down the window. She had three or four women in the car and she says, ‘I just need to know how does a girl get arrested?’“ Parks recalls. 

When then-mayor Jim Hahn didn’t reelect Parks as police chief, many of the mayor’s supporters were surprised.

“He was a one-term mayor,” Parks said. 

After retiring from City Council Parks plans to take some time off but hopes to remain active in his community by serving on public boards.

Reach Staff Reporter Brittany Reid here.