Memories of a Neighborhood

Bobby Arcos grew up on a quiet street in Atwater in the 1970s — before it was known as Atwater Village. Around his childhood home on Glenhurst Avenue, he recalls the smells of the old Van de Kamps bakery, 50 cent ham and cheese sandwiches from Vince’s Market, and playing football, and baseball at John Marshall High School. 

He also remembers the LA River as an iconic part of the city, and the feeling of freedom and peace that walking down the river gave him, a little bit of creative imagination like Huckleberry Finn.  

“You could skip rocks, you could try and hit different objects and targets in the water and make that a friendly competition. We would play baseball in the streets until it got too dark. I would find myself sometimes sitting there with friends, and we’re daydreaming,” he said. “What is going to become of our life? What does it look like? And there were some peaceful moments there as well for me.”

Despite these peaceful river moments, Bobby watched Atwater Village suffer from violence as socio economic issues like food insecurity, addiction, and poverty afflicted the neighborhood. After a stint in the army, he joined the LAPD’s Northeast Division and took pride in serving the community he grew up in. Atwater shaped his passions for community engagement, problem solving, and working with youth. That passion fuels Bobby to this day as he works to make our neighborhoods safer for kids and families.

“I know this place like the back of my hand. I loved driving around into the neighborhoods and seeing people that recognized me. That meant also walking in the halls of the station, and sometimes there were friends of mine that were arrested and were in the booking center or in the jail.”

Bobby currently serves as the Chief of the Bureau of Investigation for the District Attorney, but his commitment to community, especially the one that raised him, has compelled him to apply for the position of LAPD Chief of Police. He said “he loves the City of Los Angeles, the LAPD, and cops. There is not a more honorable or a more noble profession.”

As Northeast LA continues to undergo change and gentrification, Bobby returns to his old neighborhood to find that the fond memories of his upbringing are just that—memories.

“The home I grew up in is no longer there and has been replaced by 6 townhomes. The neighborhood is diverse in a different way than when I was growing up. You have newer residents living next door to families that have been there for multiple generations. But even though these Angelenos might come from different backgrounds, I think they all want the same thing. They want to feel safe and live the American dream.” 

Robert “Bobby” Arcos recounts his Atwater upbringing at a time long before it was known as the Village. As a kid in the 1970s, he remembers the neighborhood as a safe place where he could play with his friends in the street then go buy sweet treats for as little as a dime. He enlisted in the army as a combat medic, where he fully realized the importance of this country’s diversity. After four years of service, an honorable discharge brought him back home. Now a Chief at the Bureau of Investigation for the Los Angeles County District Attorney, Arcos talks about applying his lived experiences in Northeast LA and his stint as a U.S. Army combat medic to serve the ever-changing community where he grew up. He is currently applying for the position of LAPD Chief of Police.