The troubled Atascadero Police Department has found its new chief after it made it through nearly a year without a permanent leader.
City Manager Wade McKinney announced on Oct. 18 the appointment of Jerel Haley, a long-serving lieutenant with the Santa Maria Police Department.
According to McKinney, Haley was selected following an extensive national recruitment effort. City officials interviewed a group of professionals—including several current police chiefs—in its search for the right person to lead the department.
The process included interviews with a panel of local police chiefs and SLO Sheriff Ian Parkinson, plus a community panel made up of local citizens and business people.
“Jerel is the right person to lead the police department at this time,” McKinney said. “Jerel is clearly a proven leader at the Santa Maria Police Department with an impeccable reputation. He understands the importance of building bridges in the community. He is known as an ethical leader in public safety and sets high standards for himself and the department.”
Haley told the Sun serving the people is his ultimate goal.
“I want to make sure that we’re doing our best to be men and women of solid integrity,” he said. “People just want their department to be the best. … And I’m going to earn their respect.”
Acting Chief Steve Gesell has led the department since January, but didn’t apply for the position. He was a key member on the city recruitment team.
Haley has been in law enforcement since 1991, when he started with the Santa Cruz Police Department. During his tenure there, he was appointed as a field training officer, and was later assigned to the Santa Cruz Police Department Neighborhood Enforcement Team. He was also an investigator with the Santa Cruz County Narcotics Enforcement Team, an undercover narcotics investigation unit. He later returned to the Santa Cruz Police Detective Unit, where he served as a sexual assault detective.
In 2000, Haley moved to the Santa Maria Police Department. He was promoted to the community Services Unit as a beat coordinator.
He was again promoted to the rank of sergeant and took over supervision of the Community Services Unit and become SWAT Team leader. He was also later assigned as the supervisor of the Detective Bureau.
Haley currently holds the rank of lieutenant with the SMPD and is responsible for supervision of several programs and units, including the police K-9 program, the chaplain program, the Detective Bureau, the Gang Suppression Team, the Narcotics Suppression Team, and the Crime Laboratory.
Haley said his wife and he will make the move to Atascadero in the coming month. His two grown children live in the San Diego area.
“I suppose that any time you leave somewhere, it’s sad to have to leave, but I’m excited,” he said. “I’ve met a tremendous number of welcoming people in the city, and I’m most excited about coming in to work with the council.”
Haley will enter the department after it received heavy scrutiny for a murky settlement agreement with former chief Jim Mulhall, which prompted a grand jury investigation. Though the jury concluded that the city didn’t break any laws with Mulhall’s agreement, it did scold them for not being forthcoming with information and criticized the city’s disclosure policy.
The grand jury also found that the city’s announcement of Mulhall’s dismissal omitted the fact that the city offered the outgoing chief a settlement of $126,000.
Haley said he thought the report and its subsequent response was something the city was going to have to work on in the future.
“When you talk to the people and business owners, some of the things I’ve heard is [there needs to be] just a little increased communication with the police department,” Haley said. “An increased interaction, positive interaction, and I would certainly like to focus on that.”
Gesell will remain in his position as acting chief until Haley officially takes the spurs in mid-November.
This article appears in Oct 20-27, 2011.