Pleasant Hill Police chief announces retirement

PLEASANT HILL, CA (Sept. 14, 2022) — I am sharing this message to inform you of my decision to retire as your Police Chief effective November 2, 2022.

While it is a bittersweet moment for me, it also gives me the opportunity to say thank you. Thank you for your support. Thank you for the many partnerships we have built together. Thank you for making Pleasant Hill a better and safer place for all. Thank you also for the high expectations you appropriately placed on your police department and for always challenging us to be better.

I leave this position proud of the many things the men and women of the Pleasant Hill Police Department have accomplished. I am pleased with our ever-increasing professionalism, the reputation we hold in the community, the relationships we have built, four straight years of crime reduction, our commitment to partnerships, transparency, community engagement and much more. But above all, I am pleased our community has repeatedly demonstrated trust in its police department. This is an incredible honor, one we intend to protect and maintain through a continued commitment to professionalism, compassion, and fair and impartial policing. A commitment I assure you will continue well after my retirement.

I have served as your Police Chief for the past five years and this has been one of the outstanding highlights of a 30+ year career filled with memorable assignments and positions. At the risk of sounding cliché, yet in total honesty, I want you to know there is no other place I would have rather served as police chief.

In regards to the men and women who serve with the Pleasant Hill Police Department I would like you to know how much I appreciate them and the work that they do. They willingly choose to serve our community. They possess outstanding courage and have chosen to put the lives of others before their very own. They are rightfully held to a higher standard in their personal and professional lives and accept that responsibility. They work daily in a dangerous, complicated, ever-changing, and highly scrutinized profession, and they do so with integrity, professionalism, respect and courage. They have my full confidence and respect.

City Manager June Catalano has announced upon my retirement she intends on appointing Captain Scott Vermillion as the Acting Chief of Police to lead the Department. Captain Vermillion, who has 24 years of law enforcement experience, will serve in this capacity for about three months before a permanent Police Chief is named. This person will be selected following a nation-wide search conducted by a professional recruiting firm.

Thank you again, Pleasant Hill, for all you have done for your police department. Thank you also for what you have done for me personally. I will forever be grateful for the opportunity I have had to serve as your Police Chief.
God Bless.