Bershon leaving as LAPD inspector general

Nicole Bershon, head of the Los Angeles Police Department's watchdog agency just since May 2010, said today she will depart soon to become a Superior Court commissioner. She was selected for that post last week. Police commission president John Mack called her exit “a huge loss” and said replacing her could be difficult. “Last time, there were not that many qualified candidates, and Nicole was the obvious choice among them," Mack said, according to the L.A. Times. "In my opinion, we don’t have an obvious choice this time around.” More coverage: AP