(565) West Los Angeles

West Los Angeles Area Commander Captain Joe Dominguez is a 28-year law enforcement veteran, with 24 years of service with the CHP. Captain Dominguez grew up in California’s Central Valley, in the city of Clovis. As a child, he watched every episode of the hit TV show "CHiPs" and dreamed of one day living in Southern California and patrolling the highways he saw on his family’s small screen. As a youth, Captain Dominguez served as a police explorer throughout junior high and high school, where he learned to work within a paramilitary organization and was exposed to community relations in the field of law enforcement. Upon graduation, he attended California State University, Fresno, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree.

After graduation, Captain Dominguez began his law enforcement career in 1997 with the Los Angeles Police Department, serving as an officer for five years while patrolling the communities of Watts, Marina del Rey, Venice, Harbor City, San Pedro, and Downtown Los Angeles. As the years passed, Captain Dominguez still felt the calling to pursue his childhood dream. In 2001, he entered the CHP Academy, successfully graduated, and was first assigned to the South Los Angeles Area office. Determined not to waste any more time, he practiced day and night to master motorcycle riding and, after only four months of probation, successfully attended and passed the extremely difficult CHP Motorcycle School. Captain Dominguez had finally achieved his goal—to patrol the freeways of Southern California on a motorcycle. Over the next several years, he also became a Field Training Officer and, throughout his career, trained 53 new officers fresh from the CHP Academy. He served as an Officer-in-Charge and as a Protective Services Detail motorcycle officer, escorting national and world leaders from Bakersfield to San Diego.

In 2007, Captain Dominguez transferred back home to the Central Valley, where he was stationed at the Fresno Area office and patrolled the region on two wheels. Seven months later, he missed the assignments and fast-paced lifestyle of Southern California and transferred back to the South Los Angeles Area to continue serving the greater Los Angeles community. In 2012, Captain Dominguez promoted to the rank of sergeant within the South Los Angeles Area, spending the next decade as a field supervisor and Protective Services Detail supervisor, continuing his steadfast commitment to ensuring the safe passage of leaders visiting California. In 2017, he accepted the role of transportation and team liaison for the newly relocated Los Angeles Chargers as they moved operations from San Diego to Costa Mesa. Captain Dominguez also served as the first CHP supervisor during the construction of SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, planning ahead for future events. During his supervisory years, he participated in CHP operations ranging from the funeral of Michael Jackson to Super Bowl LVI.

In 2022, he promoted to lieutenant and was assigned to the Los Angeles Communications Center, where he was one of three management team members overseeing the largest CHP operation in the state and the third-largest dispatch center in the country. During his two-year tenure, he participated in the inception of CHP’s first Real-Time Crime Center and joined Southern California’s Studio Chiefs Organization, serving as a Department liaison for tourism and production locations in the greater Los Angeles area.

In 2023, Captain Dominguez transferred to Southern Division Special Services, where he managed Southern California’s Air Operations, the largest CHP Commercial Enforcement Unit in the state, and the Applicant Investigation Unit. During his two years there, he served on CHP’s Critical Incident Investigation Team and as Vice Chair of the Department’s Statewide Motorcycle Safety Subcommittee, offering insight to increase safety and improve communication within the Department’s motorcycle program.

In October 2025, Captain Dominguez promoted to the rank of captain for the West Los Angeles Area office, where he is currently assigned and responsible for 102 uniformed and 10 professional staff employees. Captain Dominguez states:

“In addition to our freeway responsibilities, the West Los Angeles Area encompasses a wide range of communities, major industries, and cultural centers, including Los Angeles International Airport, the University of California, Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Federal Building, and the SoFi Stadium complex—which includes the surrounding Kia Forum and Intuit Dome. After nearly three decades serving the community of Los Angeles, I am honored to lead the next generation of CHP employees, to work alongside our allied agency partners and community stakeholders, and to deliver superior service to the people who live, work, and travel through this amazing state.”