A member of the Democratic Party, Parks served as Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department from August 1997 to May 2002.

Parks is a graduate of Daniel Murphy High School and attended Los Angeles City College and received a bachelor's degree from Pepperdine University.

[citation needed] During his tenure, the LAPD was rocked by a corruption and police brutality scandal involving the elite C.R.A.S.H.

In 2008, Parks unsuccessfully sought to succeed Yvonne Brathwaite Burke on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, losing to Mark Ridley-Thomas in a runoff election.

Marqueece Harris-Dawson won the District 8 election for the vacant seat, and replaced Parks on 1 July 2015.