King City to name new interim police chief

Kelly Wittstrom works at a hair salon on 3rd Street. A longtime business owner in King City, Wittstrom is happy to hear Greenfield will not be sharing its chief.

“It wouldn’t work. We just need to get it under control,” said Wittstrom.

On Tuesday night, the Greenfield City Council voted unanimously to not share police chief services with troubled King City. With gang issues in both cities, Wittstrom said a part-time interim chief isn’t enough.

Residents in Greenfield agree. At the council meeting Tuesday, residents raised their concerns about staffing levels. One woman said, “We have too little boots on the ground.”

Another Greenfield resident took the stand and said, “That means one less patrol unit that is out there. We’ve also experienced some of the lowest staffing here in town.”

City Manager Michael Powers said he respects Greenfield’s decision not to partner with King City – and he has a backup plan.

“I will be naming a new interim chief by the end of next week who will be with us three to six months,” said Powers.

In the meantime, King City Police Cmdr. Alejandrina Tirado is acting as interim chief. According to Powers, that means she has all the authority any chief would have – that includes hiring decisions. The plan is to hire about five new officers. City leaders say they do have a few candidates currently going through background checks.

But residents like Wittstrom said they need a permanent chief to get King City back on track.

“We love King City. It needs to get its respect back,” said Wittstrom.