As Hispanic communities grow, additional leaders will be needed to reflect this demographic change. From 1990 to 2000, the national representation of Hispanic law enforcement officers rose from 9% to 14% in police departments (Reaves & Hickman, 2002). This increase in the number of Hispanic/Latino American officers has not resulted in a comparative rise of promotional opportunities for Hispanics/Latinos in the executive-levels of police departments (Shusta, Levine, Harris, & Wong, 2002). In particular, this study used a qualitative, phenomenological study, a modified Van Kaam method by Moustakas (1994) and semistructured interviews to explore the lived experiences and perceptions of a purposive sample of 27 Hispanic/Latino American police professionals who (a) are members of the Hispanic American Police Command Officers Association and (b) have reached the ranks of captain or above in their career within United States law enforcement and criminal justice agencies to ascertain what factors they believe enhanced their career accession into the executive ranks of captain or above. The data from this study suggests (a) having a champion and mentor (b) having an adaptive, evolving transformational leadership style to the culture, and (c) increasing educational credential help in leadership ascension.
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