The city of San Diego is poised to launch a nationwide search to replace Chief of Police David Nisleit, who along with two other top-ranking officials in the San Diego Police Department, is set to retire in the coming months.
Nisleit is expected to stop working by June 28, 2024. His retirement will mark the end of a nearly 36-and-a-half-year law enforcement career, culminated by more than six years as the city's top cop.
Nisleit took the reigns as chief in March 2018 after being appointed by former Mayor Kevin Faulconer to replace outgoing Chief Shelley Zimmerman, who served from 2014 until her retirement.
Executive Assistant Chief of Police Chris McGrath, the department's second-highest-ranking official, is set to retire on or before Jan. 25, 2024, after more than 35 years in San Diego law enforcement.
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The next retirement will be that of Assistant Chief Sandra Albrektsen, who is set to retire by March 22, 2024, ending a nearly 33-year law enforcement career with the city.
The Last National Search
Only one chief in the last 50 years has been hired from outside the department.
Chief William Lansdowne, Zimmerman's predecessor, was hired following a national search. Prior to his 2003 arrival in San Diego, Lansdowne served as Chief of Police in San Jose. Lansdowne announced his retirement in 2014.
While conducting the last national search that ultimately led to the internal hiring of Chief David Nisleit, city officials solicited input from the public during several community meetings and received about 2,000 online surveys from residents. Faulconer also sought the input of advisory boards of community leaders and city executives.
Several former city councilmembers began the calls for a national search and recruitment effort as early as January 2017, echoed by public input at city council committee meetings in the months that followed, although the search ultimately did not begin until late August 2017, just seven months before Zimmerman's departure.
The city hired Bob Murray & Associates, an executive search firm, to lead the city's public search and recruitment efforts for the role.
Four community forums were held in late September 2017 for community members to "attend and share input," according to a 2017 memo written by city of San Diego COO Scott Chadwick to then-City Council President Myrtle Cole.
Additionally, the city conducted an online survey for members of the public to comment and provide input, as a replacement option for those who were not able to attend an in-person meeting.
Related Coverage
Lastly, the six finalist candidates went before two separate interview panels. One panel consisted of three law enforcement officials and three professional experts:
- San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore
- La Mesa Police Chief Walt Vasquez
- Phoenix Police Chief Jeri Williams
- City of San Diego Chief Operating Officer Scott Chadwick
- City of San Diego Deputy Chief Operating Officer Ron Villa
- City of San Diego Human Resources Director Judy VonKalinowski
Five of these six panelists have retired since their role on the panel. Chadwick is currently the city manager for the city of Carlsbad.
The second panel was comprised of 22 community leaders including:
- Laura Baeza, Mid-City Community Advocacy Network
- Jaymie Bradford, San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce
- Josie Calderon, Mexican American Business and Professional Association
- Peter Callstrom, San Diego Workforce Partnership
- Ronald Cho, Park and Recreation Board, Asian Pacific Islander Association
- Taura Gentry, Community Review Board on Police Practices
- Tammy Gillies, Anti-Defamation League
- Stephen Groce, Human Relations Commission
- Andy Hanshaw, San Diego County Bicycle Coalition
- Rodney Hood, Gang Prevention and Intervention Commission
- Susan Jester, Citizens Equal Opportunity Commission
- Mitz Lee, Asian Pacific American Coalition
- Fernando Lopez, San Diego LGBT Pride
- Cindy Marten, San Diego Unified School District
- Nicole Murray Ramirez, LGBTQ Latino Coalition of San Diego County
- Barry Pollard, Community Advisory Board on Police/Community Relations
- Robert Pope, United African American Ministerial Action Council
- Jack Schaeffer, San Diego Police Officers Association
- Andrea St. Julian, Earl B. Gilliam Bar Association
- Joe Terzi, San Diego Tourism Authority
- Alonso Vivas, Downtown San Diego Partnership
- Michael Zucchet, Municipal Employees Association
Nisleit's Goals and Results
When his appointment was announced in early 2018, Nisleit took to the podium and outlined his priorities as chief, which included restoring SDPD staffing levels back to "full strength" and keeping crime rates low in San Diego's communities. With full staffing, Nisleit said the department would be able to improve its response times.
At the same press event, Faulconer said Nisleit would oversee a national recruitment campaign to fully staff SDPD by 2020.
Since Nisleit took office, crime rates have stayed on par year after year.
Although the city saw a slight increase in violent crimes between 2018 and 2022, the number of reported property crimes decreased, leading to an overall reduction in crime cases.
As for staffing levels, issues continue to persist. NBC 7 has reported on numerous occasions the growing challenge that has plagued SDPD for years: the high number of officers that have left the department for other local agencies or left the profession.
Chief Nisleit wrote in an August 2022 memo to the city's Chief Operating Officer reporting that at least 134 officers left the city as a direct result of the vaccine mandate put in place during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nisleit acknowledged in that same memo that the department had only 1,629 available officers - the lowest available sworn staffing level in over 15 years.
As of Oct.16, only 1,848 of 2,038 positions budgeted for the 2024 fiscal year are filled. Additionally, several hundred other officers are considered "not available" for day-to-day policing for a variety of personnel reasons including military and medical leave.
Only 1,652 officers are available for daily policing, according to a confidential department document obtained by NBC 7, this week.
A department staffing report also obtained by NBC 7 shows that between July 1, 2020, to June 30, 2023, 576 officers left the department. At least 23% of those left for other law enforcement agencies. An additional 49 officers have left since then, six of whom went to other agencies.
The department did not confirm how many officers joined the department as lateral transfers or through the San Diego Regional Law Enforcement Academy.
The Transition
The transition comes amid continued staffing challenges, and as the department faces legal action from two of its captains.
SDPD Southern division Captain Martha Sainz filed a lawsuit against SDPD earlier this month over discipline stemming from a Jan. 26, 2022, incident at her division that she was disciplined over.
Days after Sainz's filing in Superior Court, Captain Alberto Leos, the Captain overseeing the department's Traffic division, announced he had filed a Civil Rights complaint for discrimination with California's Civil Rights Department.
Both lawsuits are pending.
Two SDPD Captains Suing Department
What is the Deferred Retirement Option Plan (DROP)
Nisleit, McGrath and Abrektsen are all enrolled in the city's Deferred Retirement Option Plan (DROP).
DROP is a program managed by the city's retirement system, SDCERS, and allows for certain employees to continue working for up to five years.
While continuing to work, DROP employees continue to collect their standard wage, while simultaneously collecting their monthly pension. Their pension payment is placed into a separate account and earns interest that will be paid out upon final retirement. Upon final retirement, they are paid their monthly pension benefit as well as a payment from their DROP account.
The Next Chief
One could speculate who the next chief may be or whether or not they would be an internal or external candidate.
According to public records obtained by NBC 7, only two of the department's remaining six assistant chiefs, Terence Charlot and Scott Wahl, are not enrolled in the DROP program.
A spokesperson for Mayor Gloria's office tells NBC 7 the city plans to again conduct a national search effort to find Nisleit's replacement and said an announcement regarding the details of that search would be announced "later this fall."
They did confirm that the search will closely mirror the last national search effort and will include public forums.
There is no set timeline on when the search will begin, and the department is not required to look beyond San Diego for its next chief.
It is unknown whether Nisleit will appoint a permanent executive assistant chief and assistant chief before his retirement, or if he will fill those roles on an interim basis, leaving the final decision up to the new chief.
