DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES - The Los Angeles Police Department graduated 42 new officers this morning, and minutes later the next crop of future graduates had their badge ceremony - a step that takes place one month before finishing the six-month academy.

Among those getting a badge for the first time was Martin Beck, son of the mayor's chief nominee - Deputy Chief Charlie Beck.

Downtown News photographer Gary Leonard was there for the graduation and then the badge ceremony, which is typically a less formal event, he said. After all, the cadets still have one month to go before graduating.

"I went to graduation and I found out that, after, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Charlie Beck were coming," Gary Leonard said. "Mike Downing, the interim chief, presided over the graduation. It will be his only one I think. The next one is in four weeks and I assume Charlie Beck will be the chief by then. They're there with their families. Everyone is cheering.

"The graduation ended somewhere around 10:45 a.m. and over at another area of the academy was the mayor and Charlie Beck, greeting with members of his family. Beck's son was the first to get his badge, and Charlie gave it to him at a podium. The mayor spoke at the badge ceremony too and when he did he apologized for not being at the graduation. He had somewhere else to be.

"Martin Beck came, he picked up his badge, his father was at the podium, and Charlie went on to say that it was his former badge that his son would be wearing. I'm not going to say he cried but there were tears. He was welling up.

"I saw it as an opportunity to get a picture of him with his son. What I got today I thought I'd be getting next month. There was other media there but it wasn't as well attended as I bet the next graduation will be. And his whole family was there, including Beck's father, George Beck, a retired deputy chief, so three generations of LAPD."