Santa Rosa selects new police chief

Hank Schreeder, a 23-year veteran of the Santa Rosa Police Department, has been tapped as the city’s new police chief, vowing to make the department more transparent, diverse and accountable to the public.

City Manager Sean McGlynn announced the appointment of the 48-year-old married father of two Monday afternoon following a four-month-long recruitment process that he called “exhaustive.”

“I was really comfortable at the end of that lengthy analysis that the right candidate for the City of Santa Rosa was Hank Schreeder,” McGlynn said.

Schreeder has served as acting chief for 15 months, since he was appointed by former City Manager Kathy Millison following the retirement of former chief Tom Schwedhelm, who now serves on the City Council. Millison suspended the recruitment process for a new chief after she announced her own retirement, saying the decision should be up to the new city manager.

McGlynn, who started in September, took longer to make a decision than many expected. The process included holding the city’s first public forum for the three finalists and conducting multiple follow-up interviews of the candidates.

“I just thought it was important to make sure I could do everything I could to find the best fit for the community and the city, and sometimes that takes extra time,” McGlynn said.

Mayor John Sawyer said the lengthy process left many Schreeder supporters “on pins and needles” in recent weeks awaiting word of the decision. But he said it was right for the new city manager to take his time, fully vet all the candidates and ensure the process had “a very high level of integrity.”

“Hiring a police chief in 2015 should not be taken lightly,” Sawyer said. Schreeder said he was proud to work for the city and honored to be selected to lead the department.

“It’s been a long process, but I think it has been worthwhile,” Schreeder said.

The two other finalists for the job were both from Washington, Jim Jolliffe, a deputy chief in Bellevue, and Chris Sutter, an assistant police chief in Vancouver.

Schreeder said he plans to continue working closely with the city manager’s office on initiatives aimed at building the community’s trust in the department, especially around improving transparency and community engagement.

The department has been working to release more data than it traditionally has, and that trend will continue, Schreeder said. Last year it released information for the first time about complaints of use of force by officers, he said. The department also plans to expand the types of data it gathers, such as tracking detainments by race, he said.

An independent auditor may also be used to help the city review use-of-force complaints, though it is too soon to say how closely it would mirror the recommendations recently made by the county’s Community and Local Law Enforcement Task Force, he said.

He’s also planning a series of community forums aimed at setting department goals, as well as forming a “chief’s community advisory committee,” which could help the city gather a diversity of views on existing and future department policies, such as the use of body-worn cameras, Schreeder said.

These initiatives are consistent with the recommendations from the city’s Open Government Task Force, Schreeder said. The panel was convened in 2013 in an effort to help change what has been called a culture of secrecy at City Hall.

“We really need to be much more transparent, much more open with the community about what we do and how we do it,” he said.

That effort takes on added importance given the impending annexation of the remainder of the Roseland community.

“Most of the feedback we’ve seen is there is not a lot of trust toward law enforcement in that community,” he said.

If annexation of the five unincorporated county islands in the southwest area is approved, the city would take over policing an additional 712 acres that is currently the responsibility of the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office. It would require the hiring of approximately six additional officers and four support staff, according to a city analysis.

Councilman Gary Wysocky, who participated in the community panels that met with chief candidates, has questioned the city’s spending on law enforcement and grilled department officials over “inconsistent” statistics on gang crime. He said he likes Schreeder and is sure McGlynn did his due diligence.

“We’ve always had thoughtful and candid conversations,” Wysocky said.

Schwedhelm, who also participated in those candidate panels, said it is unfortunate his former department had to endure such a long period of leadership uncertainty. He believes a permanent chief should have been selected a year ago by the previous city manager.

While Schwedhelm said he always believed Schreeder was the best candidate for the job, the recruitment process only confirmed it for him.

“He’s committed to the city and the organization and he understands the unique dynamics of our community,” Schwedhelm said. “He’s going to be a great chief of police.”