Interim chief reflects on police funding, transparency, virus
The new job, while trying, is giving Matt Madden and the Chico Police Department a chance to reflect, he said.
Madden took over as the department’s interim chief during a pandemic, also at a time when policing has been increasingly scrutinized nationwide in the aftermath of the May 25 death of George Floyd at the hands of four Minneapolis Police officers.
With those issues at the forefront, along with several other crises and issues of focus in the Chico community, Madden said, “sometimes out of tragedy, it really does make us look at what we’re doing and kind of evaluate where we’re at as a profession.”
Madden spoke with the Enterprise-Record in a phone interview Thursday morning on the aforementioned topics and several others. Madden, a Paradise native who’s been with the department for 23 years, replaced Mike O’Brien upon his retirement June 5.
The interview has been condensed for clarity.
Q: You took over this job in the middle of a pandemic. What are some of the challenges
When we send someone to training, not only are we paying those training cops, but generally we’re also paying for another officer to back-fill that officer’s shift.
So there’s a lot more
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: The challenge is trying moving parts when we to mitigate, keeping talk about these things, our community safe and you have to look at it as well as our own staff kind of strategically and through this, while trying see the whole picture. to also respect We’re certainly not afraid people’s to do that. … The defunding constitutional part just depends on what the definition is, but
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rights. I know that we’re going to : Aside from the pandemic, There’s a lot be looking at that. We want aside from police at stake going to be transparent because reform, what would through I’m very confident that, as you say are the most pressing
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this pandemic. we move forward, people day-to- day issues in : That’s a tough question. We will see that (training) is Chico right now when it I can tell you in have business already an area we focus comes to policing? my whole career that after owners who are suffering on here at the Police Department. every shift I would
A … it’s just a variety : Well, you know, constantly evaluate myself of issues that this thing we’re busy. I still (and) my actions. I always
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has created. : Is there a general estimate think we’re impacted by told myself and I tell
We’re just trying to keep of how understaffed some of the other crises my officers that at the end our staff safe so we can keep the department is? we’ve been through here of every shift, you have to them working in the field, with this organization. be able to look in the mirror
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while trying to adhere to : Right now, if we We still have major impact and say, ‘I did the right some of the guidelines — were to talk specifically from the Camp Fire. thing today.’ social distancing and some about the sworn positions, Our population levels have Certainly as human beings of the protective equipment we are authorized gone up; our staffing has as we go we can make … We’ve looked at various 105 sworn positions. Right not. mistakes. But we make mistakes ways, we’ve looked at different now, we currently have We’re constantly evaluating and we learn from staffing models to eight unfilled positions how best to deploy them. I don’t have any real reduce our staff’s exposure that have been frozen due our resources to be able to particular (instance), I can and things like that. to budgetary concerns. reduce crime, address the just say my concentration We’re down eight officers quality of life issues and was never to make a mistake and we’re also down four meet the expectations of from the heart. I feel dispatchers. our community. strongly about my career at That’s pretty significant this point, I’m proud of my
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when you look at the calls : You’ve had a total career and I do feel because for service. And our activity of 23 years in the department, of that, I enjoy the role I’m levels are high as well. including three in now because I get to push as deputy chief of police. all of those experiences and How did all of those years, all the things I’ve done, and and any roles in particular, I share those with my young prepare you for this officers to help them understand job you recently stepped and become better at into? what they do. that have been presented with that?
Madden
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: You talked about some of the things happening at national level right now — there have been a lot of conversations about police reform and defunding the police, some within the city of Chico recently. From your perspective, what’s your reaction to that and what kind of impact could that have on your department?
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: It could have significant impacts depending on what the definition of defund the police is. I’ve heard quite a few over the last couple of weeks.
From my standpoint, I think one of the things the community needs to realize is that we’re still understaffed here at the Police Department and we’ve been so since coming out of the Great Recession.
When we talk about either literally defunding the police budget or rerouting or redesigning funds to address some of these things, I think we really need to look at the Police Department’s budget as a whole. Because one of the things that we have to look at is training. Training is expensive.
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: On the topic of police reform, what do you and your department hope is the long-term outcome of these discussions at the city level? how we’ve always done it.’ There’s new technology, new equipment, a lot of different factors go into how we address police policies and procedures.
I think this is a good opportunity for us to not only highlight what we’ve done to this point, but (also) to listen to our community, engage and allow people to provide some information and feedback, so that we continue to build that trust
Q and that relationship. : On the flip side, are
there any moments in your career you regret or would like to have done differently? police officer positions were even available to be frozen, because we really do vet out applicants for this job. I feel strongly that you need to put the right person in this job. It’s not an easy job and it’s not a job that everyone can do.
If there’s one positive I can say I really felt strongly about, it’s the hiring and recruiting in the last several years.
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: What was interesting : Anything else you’d : First of all, I just is, for the last like to add? want to say that the three years I’ve been deputy
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Police Department, at least chief of police, so I was : I’m very proud to be in my position, I want to second in command in the in this role. Certainly be as transparent as possible. organization. we have some relationship I do feel like as police, My job was really to focus building to do in this community, we work for the community. on the internal functions but I’m excited of the organization about us moving us forward.
This unfortunate event and addressing some of that caused this whole the major issues going It’s a tough time to be in momentum does actually on in the last three years, this position, but for me, it’s present an opportunity mainly, staffing. I played a a no better time — as I’m for us to go back and review role in hiring and recruiting starting to get toward the our policies and review and I was very proud end of my career, there’s our training, and of that. I made a promise no better way than to finish have those conversations to this organization as we strong. And to go out of what we’re doing, why built back out the department the way I’ve always wanted we do things certain ways from the recession to go out, and that’s on top, and then not be afraid to that we’d never lower our being a strong leader in the look at different ways of standards, and I believe organization and leaving it getting the job done. that strongly. better than when I found it.
As a police organization, We have a culture here That’s really my mission at we should constantly be that I feel strongly about this point. evolving. We should never and that is, we hire the best. sit back and have the old And that’s, frankly, one of adage of, ‘ Well, that’s just the reasons why those open