Costa Mesa police chief named

Phoenix Police Commander Christopher Shawkey was named Costa Mesa’s new police chief Wednesday, ending a four-month nationwide search.

Shawkey, 47, has been with the Phoenix Police Department since 1981, most recently as commander of the department’s airport bureau. He beat out 43 other candidates, including another finalist, Long Beach Deputy Police Chief Timothy Jackman.

A short-staffed department and a contentious immigration enforcement plan will be on Shawkey’s plate when he takes over from Costa Mesa’s interim chief, Steven Staveley.

“I think the first thing that needs to be done is to help people to realize that there’s going to be some stability in the position now,” Shawkey said.

Shawkey is the fifth police chief in Costa Mesa’s 53-year history. Former Chief John Hensley, the department’s fourth leader, retired in June after three years with the city.

Costa Mesa City Manager Allan Roeder said Shawkey stood out during the background check, which included contact with Phoenix city and police officials, community members, and even Shawkey’s neighbors.

The detailed background-check process was the reason it took so long to choose a chief, Roeder said, adding that politics and Tuesday’s council election had nothing to do with the timing of Wednesday’s announcement.

After winning reelection to the council Tuesday, Mayor Allan Mansoor has said he’ll move forward with a proposal that city police get federal training to check the immigration status of criminal suspects. The council approved the plan in December but does not yet have an agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

It will be up to the police chief to navigate between the council’s direction and a concerned community. Shawkey said he will work to balance everyone’s interests while following the council’s direction.

“I think there can be an appropriate place [for local law enforcement], again if it [the plan] is well thought out, if it protects people’s constitutional rights and we don’t find ourselves alienating segments of the community that we work with,” he said.

City Councilwoman Katrina Foley said she’s glad a new chief will be taking the helm because the department has been somewhat in limbo during the search.

She said she discussed the immigration proposal with Shawkey during the interview process, and she expects he will do whatever the council directs. But Foley, who voted against the proposal, also said she expects Shawkey to have reservations.

“I think that he, like every other law enforcement chief of police in Orange County, just really believes that local policing is not served well by having our officers be immigration agents,” she said.

Shawkey said he looks forward to working in Costa Mesa and moving his family to the area. He and his wife have five children between the ages of 8 and 19.

“I was looking for a city that offered an excellent quality of life and was well run and had a good reputation, and Costa Mesa certainly offers all of that,” he said.

His starting date and salary — which could be up to $167,472 — have not yet been set.