San Diego starts search for next city police chief

The search is on for San Diego’s next top cop. City officials said Tuesday that they have begun looking for who will take the helm at the San Diego Police Department once Chief David Nisleit retires in June.

The process will focus on both internal and national candidates and will include opportunities for community engagement so San Diegans can weigh in on the kind of police leader the city should be looking for.

“As we launch the search for his successor, we’ll look to community stakeholders to help us select someone with great integrity and a passion for public service who’s similarly committed to ensuring San Diego remains one of America’s safest big cities,” Mayor Todd Gloria said in a statement.

The mayor also thanked Nisleit for his decades of service and his leadership over the last five years.

The city’s announcement comes the day after the chief officially informed department members he would be retiring next year, even though it was widely known internally he would be leaving.

Nisleit, who was promoted to chief in 2018, joined the city’s department in 1988, following in the footsteps of his father who was also a San Diego police officer. He must retire in June because he signed on to the city’s deferred retirement option plan, known as DROP, in 2019.

The program allows some city employees to collect pension funds in a retirement account if they agree to retire within five years of the date they enroll.

Nisleit said in a statement that he looks forward “to transitioning the department into the hands of the toptier candidate who is selected to serve as the next police chief.”

San Diego will pay Bob Murray & Associates, based out of California’s Placer County, up to $250,000 to handle the recruitment process, according to the city’s contract with the firm. It’s the same company that orchestrated San Diego’s last police chief search.

The firm has conducted more than 200 police and fire chief searches for jurisdictions across the country, according to its application with the city.