What's new at the Sebastopol Police Department?
Sean McDonagh was sworn in as police chief on Wednesday. He also announced an expansion of the department's citizen volunteer program and the creation of a mounted police volunteer unit
Police Chief Sean McDonagh was sworn in as Sebastopol’s Chief of Police on Wednesday at a moving ceremony at the police station on Laguna Way. The event was attended by Mayor Stephen Zollman, Council Members Maurer and McLewis, city staff, and several members of McDonagh’s family, as well as the police chiefs of several nearby towns. City Clerk Mary Gourley did the swearing-in, and McDonagh’s father pinned the chief’s badge on his son’s chest.
After a brief welcome from the mayor, former Police Chief Ron Nelson spoke for a few minutes:
“The hiring and transitioning to a new police chief is a celebration, but it’s also somewhat paradoxical. In fact, in a fashion, change of leadership brings with it some angst amongst employees, city staff and the community, due to the unknown. Change can be difficult…but it's an opportunity to bring a new lens to the organization. Most importantly, it’s a time to celebrate the new opportunities for growth and change and a fresh new vision, while simultaneously embracing organizational traditions and the journey that our wonderful staff has undertaken these past few years.”
Then he spoke to his admiration for the new chief.
“These past few weeks I've come to know Chief McDonough as a colleague, a fellow cop, and more importantly, as a person, a man and a friend. We built a friendship, and I’m appreciative of that. I was confident from the start that he was the right person to lead this organization, moving forward to greater heights, and this has only been confirmed these past few weeks. He’s the right person for this department, the city and our community, and he’s going to do wonderful things during his tenure as chief.”
In brief remarks, the new chief thanked everyone present and said, “I’m super excited to be here. It’s an amazing town. It’s led by two amazing people, Don and Mary, the city manager and assistant city manager. I’m super excited to be part of the work that they’re putting into turning some of the issues that are occurring here around.”
He also emphasized the importance of working closely with the community and talked briefly about some of the new programs he was bringing (or bringing back) to Sebastopol.
Want to be a citizen volunteer at the police department?
In his talk, the new chief mentioned the upcoming expansion of the citizen volunteer program at the police department and the addition of a new mounted volunteer unit.
Daniel Potts, who has worked as a citizen volunteer for the Sebastopol Police Department for 16 years, will be rebuilding the department’s volunteer force. Recruited by former Police Chief Jeff Weaver in 2009, Potts had previously worked as a volunteer for the Santa Rosa Police Department. All told, that’s 25 years as a police volunteer between the two departments.
“We haven’t had a volunteer patrol since 2021 or 2022 so it’s been four years,” Potts said. “It’s my job to recruit people. Then I also want to do a Citizens Police Academy, which we haven’t done for quite a while.”
Potts credits Sean McDonagh for fixing up the department’s volunteer ride, which was originally donated by the Fire Department and repainted by Jeff Weaver.
“So the chief came in and said he loves cars. He said, ‘I’m gonna get your little volunteer car running.’ So he fixed the car [on his own time], and he had it detailed inside.”
Chief McDonagh also has plans for a whole new breed of citizen volunteers: equestrians.
McDonagh said there were a number of people in the department (as well as volunteers) who were good on horseback, and he felt such a unit would pay homage to Sebastopol's rural roots.
“We’ve got Sergeant Thompson, who was in the San Francisco Police Department’s Mounted Unit, and all of our dispatchers are very experienced horse riders,” he said. “And there’s a great deal of community interest in joining the unit as well. So I think we’ve got an untapped resource here of community volunteers that can add an additional flavor to our community volunteer program, with Sergeant Thompson heading the whole program up.”
And the good news is, according to McDonagh, it won’t cost the department a thing.
“The great part about a unit like this is that the horses are supplied by the respective volunteers, so there’s no cost to the community,” he said. “Katy Eldridge, a dispatcher, made the saddle pads on her own time for the horses at the swearing-in event. So it’s generating a lot of interest already, where people are already donating and volunteering their time and efforts, and in some cases, money to help us set this program up.”
“My intention is for it to be volunteer-funded and not [funded] by the taxpayers of Sebastopol, though they will be the beneficiaries of the success of the program once we’re able to get it launched,” he said.
McDonagh said mounted units are valuable in searches and for patrolling the local trails, but their biggest selling point might be as a community relations asset.
“If we were to line up a police officer on foot, a police officer with a canine, and a police officer on a horse, we’re going to get more interaction from the general community with the horse, because everybody wants to go and pat the horse. I think it just creates that inviting scenario of breaking down barriers between police and the community,” he said.
McDonagh said that at the swearing-in event, “We had two people individually approach the horses. They told the riders that they’ve been struggling mentally and having a ‘tough time’ and that being able to interact with the horses, rub and love on them, hugely improved their anxiety and how they felt. Right there, that alone is a win for our community in my books,” McDonagh said. “They’re also able to patrol trails around our city, our downtown and The Barlow, assist with searches and evidence collection (as horse riders are so elevated that their viewpoint is advantageous to that type of work), and they can also participate in local parades and events. The list is endless.”
To find out how to become a Sebastopol Police Department citizen volunteer or to inquire about the equestrian unit, call the police department at (707) 829-4400.
What a great concept! Adding a popular service without asking for a tax increase. Love the idea of volunteer 'beat' police. I hope they'll be allowed and encouraged to issue citations for moving and parking violations.