New Police Officer Taft Bradley Welcomed By Pleasanton

PLEASANTON, CA — Pleasanton has a new cop on the beat, and he's no stranger to police work. Taft Bradley was sworn in Wednesday in a ceremony that included his 4-year-old son, Taft Jr., pinning his badge. Bradley is bringing his experiences from the Richmond and Los Rios police departments, and Pleasanton officials say he will make an immediate impact on the city.

Bradley was born and raised in Pittsburg, California, and graduated from Deer Valley High School before attending college in Sacramento. He became intrigued with law enforcement during his junior year of high school after attending a career fair, according to an announcement from the city of Pleasanton.

He eventually became a police officer for the Los Rios Police Department/Community College District, and later joined the Richmond Police Department. Among the experience Taft brings to Pleasanton is a background in the mental health field working with juveniles and adults. During his time at the Los Rios Police Department, he utilized his experiences in the mental health field to develop a crisis intervention team that provided resources to students with mental health challenges, according to the announcement.

While working patrol in the city of Richmond, he was assigned to areas that were impacted by gangs, prostitution and crimes that were extremely violent in nature, the announcement continued.

In addition to police work, Taft enjoys traveling, sports and volunteering at his local boxing gym. "He is truly excited about working for the city of Pleasanton and looks forward to making a positive impact on our community," according to the announcement.