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W.L. 'Bill' Kelley, Newhall CHP Captain (Ret.)
• First black to serve as CHP's deputy commander dies.

From the Associated Press

Saturday, November 1, 2003

SACRAMENTO (AP) — W.L. "Bill" Kelley, the first black to serve as the second in command of the California Highway Patrol, has died, the CHP said Friday. He was 61.
    Kelley passed away at his Sacramento home late Thursday night. The cause of death was not disclosed.
    Kelley joined the CHP in 1967 in the Los Angeles area. He became a sergeant in 1973, a lieutenant in 1982 and a captain in 1986, serving as commander of the CHP offices in Newhall and south Los Angeles.
    He later became commander of the CHP's internal affairs section in Sacramento and was appointed to the CHP's No. 2 post, deputy commissioner, in 1995 by Gov. Pete Wilson. Kelley retired in 1999.
    "Bill had the unique ability of always being upbeat and cheerful even during times of great stress," said CHP Commissioner D.O. "Spike" Helmick. "He ran the daily operations of this department with professionalism and dignity. He will be missed as a law enforcement professional and a human being."
    Kelley is survived by his widow, Shirley, and four children. Funeral arrangements were pending.

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©2003, ASSOCIATED PRESS/THE SIGNAL.

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