Ukiah police chief on leave amid criminal investigation

Ukiah Police Chief Noble Waidelich was placed on paid administrative leave Tuesday pending the results of an investigation into possible criminal conduct, city officials announced in a news release.

The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office is leading the investigation, which is related to “an allegation of criminal conduct” involving Waidelich that was reported Monday, said Sgt. Juan Valencia, a spokesperson for the agency.

Details regarding the alleged conduct and subsequent investigation have not been not released.

Valencia would not disclose the allegation nor answer additional questions about the case after he released a statement in response to inquires Wednesday morning from The Press Democrat. He said he was withholding information “due to the active status of this investigation and to protect the integrity of this case.”

The allegation was reported to the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office, but the agency’s leader, Sheriff Matt Kendall, “requested the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office conduct the investigation for transparency purposes,” Valencia said in his statement. He said that was “due to the close working relationship between the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office and the Ukiah Police Department.”

Once the investigation is completed, the case will be forwarded to the Mendocino County District Attorney’s Office for review, according to Valencia.

Ukiah officials said they are conducting a separate personnel investigation into Waidelich, but they declined to release details about the probe.

Ukiah Police Captain Cedric Crook was appointed Wednesday afternoon as acting chief of the city’s police department, according to Shannon Riley, the deputy city manager.

Riley said it was unclear how long Waidelich would be on leave “as there is an active investigation.”

Waidelich was hired as an entry-level officer in 2005 and gradually rose through the Ukiah Police Department’s ranks, according to Riley. He was tapped as the interim chief in September 2021 and named chief just over a month later. His annual salary is $187,789.

The allegation reported Monday about Waidelich was not related to a domestic abuse case brought against him and Mendocino County by Waidelich’s former fiancee, Amanda Carley, according to Carley’s attorney, Richard Freeman.

Freeman said neither Carley nor her daughter, who he is representing in a separate case against Waidelich, reported an allegation about Waidelich to law enforcement in the past week.

It was unclear to Freeman what authorities were investigating, he said.

A Mendocino County Superior Court judge ruled Friday that Waidelich and the county must stand trial in Carley’s case, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Carley, a former Mendocino County probation officer, filed the suit in 2017, when Waidelich was a detective, alleging years of domestic abuse by Waidelich and retaliation by the county after she reported it, according to the Times.

Waidelich and his attorney could not be reached for comment.

You can reach Staff Writer Matt Pera at matthew.pera@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @Matt__Pera.