Chief Westrick leaving Hollister Police Department

Chief David Westrick with Hollister police announced in a blog post that he will be leaving the department at the end of the year.

Westrick has been the police chief since 2013 and said his last day will be Dec. 30.

In the blog post, Westrick wrote about his time working in law enforcement since he attended the State Center Peace Officers Academy in Fresno back in 1990. Shortly after finishing there, he joined the Los Banos Police Department, where he stayed for about 10 years.

Westrick said that in Los Banos, he not only gained friends in the community, but trained new officers, work as a detective, write grants and investigate street crimes among other opportunities.

In 2000, Westrick moved to the Redwood City Police Department before joining Hollister police in 2003. When he was hired in Hollister, Westrick said the interim chief told him that he would probably not be promoted because he had not finished a degree, and he said that motivated him to go back to college and finish his degree.

After that, Westrick was promoted to Patrol Sergeant and then Captain in 2009. When Chief Miller retired in 2012, Westrick and Captain Reynoso shared the position of Acting Chief of Police.On July 2, 2013, Westrick was sworn in as Chief of Police.

In the post, Westrick also wrote about what the department has accomplished during his time as chief. Westrick said that he and volunteers started Hollister Gives Back in 2013 and wrote more than 30,000 Christmas cards to deployed and injured military members. That eventually became the charitable organization Hollister Police Foundation.

Some other department accomplishments included an award for National Police Department of the Year in 2014, grants for school resource officers and traffic, a 30% drop in crime, a partnership with local schools that has brought more officers to the region and more. He also said the department has never been over his budget during his time as chief.

Westrick said that he is leaving the department in the hands of Captain Carlos Reynoso, Lt. Eric Olson and Lt. Dan Winn. In the post he thanked the city council for its support too.

“I have been really blessed to work with some of the best executives in the business in the City of Hollister. I have had great partnerships with the county and courts,” Westrick wrote. ” I truly thank you all for your support, your encouragement and your friendship. I will have more words and more thanks in the coming days.”

Westrick did not say what he will move on to after leaving the department.