Who Should Palo Alto Pick As Next Police Chief? City Seeks Input

PALO ALTO, CA — Palo Alto is seeking input on its selection of a new police chief to replace the retiring Robert Jonsen.

City Manager Ed Shikada will host two community events this month on Mar. 19 and Mar. 31 for the public to provide feedback.

The next police chief will oversee 79 full-time sworn officers, six reserve officers and 50 non-sworn positions, a department that responds to more than 50,000 calls a year and a dispatch center that receives the second-highest volume of calls in Santa Clara County. The dispatch center also supports Stanford, Palo Alto Animal Services and Palo Alto Utilities.

The city’s human resources commission met last week for the first of three community input sessions on the new chief.

The public can also submit input via this form.

Register for the Mar. 19 meeting at 10 a.m. here and the Mar. 31 event at 5:30 p.m. here.