A San Diego City Council committee will hold a special meeting Monday to discuss the appointment of Scott Wahl as San Diego’s next police chief.
Wahl, who serves as the police department’s assistant chief, was announced last month as Mayor Todd Gloria’s pick to succeed Chief David Nisleit, who will retire in June after 36 years of service.
If confirmed Monday, Wahl will assume the office on June 7.
Wahl, a 25-year veteran and lifelong San Diego resident, was selected after a nationwide search for candidates that was narrowed down to 56 law enforcement officers and after an extensive interview process with nearly two dozen community members and other city officials, Gloria’s office said.
Following Gloria’s announcement, Wahl said, “I look forward to working collaboratively with him, the City Council and our community to ensure public safety and a better quality of life for all. Together, we will build a department that is reflective of our city and worthy of your trust and collaboration.”
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The chief of police is selected by the mayor but must be approved in a majority vote by the San Diego City Council before being sworn in.
Wahl has worked in almost every role and rank during his tenure, including as an officer, detective, sergeant, lieutenant, captain and most-recently assistant chief of special projects and legislative affairs.
“I love this city and I love this police department,” Wahl said after the Mayor’s announcement. “I am here because I want to make a difference in our community. I am here because I want to make a difference in the lives of the men and women who come to work each and every day to protect and serve all of you. I have a vested interest in the success of this city and the success of this police department.”
According to the San Diego Police museum, Wahl follows in his father Michael’s footsteps. The elder Wahl ended a 35-year career with SDPD when he retired at the rank of detective.
“I’m a fourth-generation San Diegan. I’m born and raised here. I grew up the son of a San Diego police officer. Doing this job is all I’ve ever wanted to do,” Wahl said during the news conference about the appointment.
Nisleit’s retirement marks the end of a nearly 36-and-a-half-year law enforcement career, culminated by more than six years as the city’s highest-ranking officer.
Nisleit took the reigns as chief in March 2018 after being appointed by former Mayor Kevin Faulconer to replace outgoing Chief Shelley Zimmerman, who served from 2014 until her retirement.
Chief William Lansdowne, Zimmerman’s predecessor, was hired following a national search, and the only chief in the last 50 years that has been hired from outside the department. Prior to his 2003 arrival in San Diego, Lansdowne served as Chief of Police in San Jose. Lansdowne retired in 2014.
The search for Wahl closely mimicked the last national search that ultimately led to the internal hiring of Chief David Nisleit.
Ahead of both Nisleit’s and Wahl’s appointments, city officials solicited input from the public during several community meetings and received hundreds of online surveys from residents. Faulconer and Gloria both sought the input of advisory boards of community leaders and city executives.
