Salinas police chief to retire in October

Salinas Police Chief Kelly McMillin announced Friday morning he’s retiring in early October of this year.

McMillin started his law enforcement career in 1984 and came to the Salinas Police Department in 1988. He’s been the police chief for the past four years. According to the Salinas police website, McMillin was the first chief promoted from within the ranks since the 1960s. But at the age of 52, he said it’s time to move on to something different.

“The reality is, this can be a hard career on a person,” McMillin said. “I’m blessed with my health, I’m blessed with a healthy family and so it doesn’t make sense to continue financially but it goes make sense for me to get out and enjoy my family.”

McMillin said he will reach retirement age in October and had been discussing retirement internally in the department for the past year. He initially planned to step down in December but the date was moved up to October after several things came up.

He cited the scheduled December retirements of several sergeants and Deputy Chief Dan Perez, and said the department would suffer from a leadership void if he left at that time. It gives Salinas City Manager Ray Corpuz at least six months to find a replacement. Corpuz said he will begin working with an executive firm to find a new chief.

“We’ll be looking at a nationwide search to find the best replacement for Chief McMillin,” Corpuz said. “It’ll be a daunting task. Excellent, outstanding chiefs are hard to find and we want someone knowledgeable about this community and the best policing tactics and strategies, like community-based policing.”

McMillin’s tenure as Top Cop has had its share of ups and downs. In 2014, there were four deadly officer-involved shootings, and last year, Salinas saw a record number of homicides. The department is now working with the Department of Justice to implement policy changes, but McMillin admits there is only so much he can do between now and October.

“There are also some really important policy decisions that that report recommends and I didn’t think it would be fair to the police department or to the incoming chief to establish potentially new, very important policies that a new chief may or may not agree with,” McMillin said.

Residents say they just want to make sure cracking down on crime remains a priority.

“I really hate to see the chief go because he has set up a lot of policies, especially this new one that put all law enforcement officers on the beat,” Dave Clark, with the Neighborhood Watch Help in Salinas Facebook Page, said. “He took everybody off the desk and put them on the beat. The only little drawback was stopping the Gang Task Force. But these guys were getting way too many calls and they weren’t able to handle the calls, the public wasn’t happy. But now, they’re responding to calls faster and they’re being more visible in the community.”

After he leaves his post, McMillin said he plans to stay in Salinas, where his wife is a business owner. He is also on a number of different nonprofit boards and would like to do more of that eventually. In the meantime, he’s focused on getting as much done as he can before October.

“Every day across this city, Salinas police officers commit acts of bravery and compassion and heroism,” McMillin said. “And while those acts often go unnoticed by the public at large, they do happen regularly, under challenging circumstances and without expectation of recognition. I cannot tell you how proud I am to work with and lead the men and women of the Salinas Police Department.”

Santa Cruz Police Chief Kevin Vogel said Chief McMillin has been a great friend and public safety partner to all on the Central Coast, and wished him all the best in his retirement.