CV Sheriff’s Department to Change Captains

Capt. Bill Song soon will be Cmdr. Song.
On Sunday, April 2, the current captain at the Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s Station is set to depart the post he’s held since May 2013. Song learned recently that he has been tabbed for a promotion, which the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department announced Tuesday will be in its Technology and Support Division.
Song will be replaced by Christopher Blasnek, who’s been a lieutenant for 10 years. Currently, he’s stationed in the department’s Reserve Forces Bureau, which is the administrative headquarters for the Department’s Reserve Program, Explorer Program and Mounted Posse, according to the department’s website.
“We welcome him, it sounds like he’s going to be a really good fit,” Lt. Marjorie Jacobs said at Tuesday’s City Council meeting. “We’re excited.”
Though Song couldn’t identify Blasnek by name during an interview Monday, he described his replacement as a “great guy” with whom he has worked with before.
Song, a 26-year veteran of the county’s sheriff’s department, knew his next step would put him in charge of captains, but he had hoped it would be with another patrol division.
“It’s the action,” he said. “That’s what I like best.”
La Cañada Flintridge officials often spoke positively of Song during his tenure, when one of his priorities involved curbing home burglaries.
“Capt. Song has been a tremendous asset for the LCF,” emailed Len Pieroni, a City Councilman and past president of the Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s Station Support Group. “All interactions I have with him are good experiences. I find him to be responsive, helpful and professional.
“I am happy for him and know he will do well with the promotion.”
“He provided very strong leadership in addressing safety concerns in our community,” said LCF’s Mayor Pro-Tem Michael Davitt, who is on the board of directors of the Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s Support Group. “He was always very open and forthcoming. One aspect that stood out and impressed me was his ability to create a strategy to address a problem or issue. If something negatively developed in our city, he was very proactive in creating a strategy to combat that issue.”
Song’s stint at the CV station was something of a homecoming. He attended Rosemont Middle School and Crescenta Valley High School in La Crescenta before moving farther inland with his family.
“I would say this is the best place to work in L.A. County, station-wise,” Song said. “You get the best of everything — the city, the community, everybody’s great. And I’m not just saying that; it really makes it that much easier when you get such good support from the community, and where the community likes the sheriff’s department and law enforcement and the job we do.
“The problems we have, they come with the job. That this community is so supportive, that’s what makes the difference. You want to take care of them.”