Police chief, captains sworn in as first Menifee PD officers

Pat Walsh is sworn in as the first Menifee Police Chief by City Clerk Sarah Manwaring at Wednesday's City Council meeting.

By Doug Spoon, Editor

They packed the council chambers, filling all the seats and standing in the aisles. Others watched on TV monitors in the lobby of City Hall.

They were all there to witness an historic occasion – administration of the oath of office to the first police chief and two captains in the newly forming Menifee Police Department.

Chief Pat Walsh and captains David Gutierrez and Christopher Karrer won’t officially take charge of law enforcement until next July 1, when the city’s contract with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department ends. But in the meantime, Walsh and his top officers need the authority to make official decisions in building the department, including swearing in new officers as they are hired.

They got that authority Wednesday night in front of dozens of family members, officers from several police departments throughout the state, the Menifee City Council, and city staff, including the man who hired Walsh in March following council’s November 18 vote to form the city’s own PD.

“I had the difficult decision and responsibility in selecting Menifee’s first police chief,” City Manager Armando Villa said in introducing Walsh. “Believe me, I felt the weight of 93,505 people on my shoulders.

“In hearing what the city council wanted in a police chief, six things resonated with me. They wanted a visionary, an innovator, a good communicator, someone who has cultural sensitivity, a person with technical knowledge, and someone who’s approachable. Pat Walsh meets all those requirements.”

Walsh comes to the position from the Lompoc Police Department, where he served as chief for four years. He is a veteran of 35 years in law enforcement.


The ceremony, which took place at the start of the regular City Council meeting, began with introductions of the many family members of the officers, their former supervisors and co-workers, and officers of other departments who had driven from as far as Blythe to witness the event. Walsh was first sworn in by City Clerk Sarah Manwaring. His badge was then pinned on his new black uniform by his father-in-law, Les Rushing.

Following that, Walsh introduced his first two hired officers for their swearing in and badge pinning.

David Gutierrez and Christopher Karrer are sworn in as Menifee Police Captains.

Gutierrez has been in law enforcement since 2002, when he began as a deputy with the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department. In 2006, he joined the newly formed Citrus Heights Police Department, where he rose to the ranks of sergeant (2013) and lieutenant (2015).

“So he’s got the opportunity to do that twice in his career,” Walsh said about Gutierrez’s second role in joining a new police department.

Karrer, a Marine Corps veteran, began his law enforcement career with the Hemet Police Department in 2000. In 2001 he moved to the Los Alamitos Police Department, where he was promoted from patrol officer to police sergeant (2013), detective sergeant (2016) and captain (2017).

“We just took a solemn oath, and we’re going to take care of our city.” Walsh said.

The ceremony was also witnessed by Gregory Fellows, captain of the Sheriff’s Department Perris Station, a job that include duties as the Menifee Police Chief for the duration of Menifee’s contract with the department. Walsh and Sheriff’s Department officials have repeatedly said there is no ill will between the parties. According to City officials, the decision to form a true Menifee Police Department was due in part to increases averaging 6.5 percent per year with the Sheriff’s Department.

“We all know what a dangerous job a police officer is,” Mayor Pro Tem Greg August said. “We know our streets will continue to be safe with protection from the Sheriff’s Department as long as they are still here.”

Council member Matt Liesemeyer, one of the strongest proponents of a Menifee Police Department in recent years, addressed the newly sworn in officers.

“What a tremendous opportunity for you guys, to be a part of this,” Liesemeyer said. “Every single day you’re out there, you will be creating a culture for public safety in our city.”

Walsh told Menifee 24/7 that while newly sworn Menifee police officers are authorized to assist the Sheriff’s Department if asked in case of an emergency over the next seven months, they will not be patrolling during that time. Their primary tasks will be building the department, establishing policies and conducting training based on those policies.

“As we bring people on, we are going to be armed, we are going to be going to the shooting range, we’re going to be training,” Walsh said. “So now I can introduce new officers, swear them in, and we can move forward. We’re not out patrolling yet, but we are sworn in. We wanted to make sure the public sees us swear an oath to the Constitution.”

Walsh said his next priority is the hiring of three lieutenants. He said he has already selected three who are in background checks. During the last two weeks, he has conducted interviews to reduce a field of 55 candidates for sergeant down to 10 finalists who will go to background check.

“Then we get to our officers,” he said. “We’ll probably have our officers picked and in background checks by Dec. 10. They’re going to come on board in May or April.”

According to Walsh, those officers will be given conditional job offers and told not to quit their current jobs until they are given a start date in Menifee.

Meanwhile, the department has purchased five patrol vehicles and the renovation of the former City Hall is well on its way to becoming the Menifee Police Station.

“I was expecting we would not be in the building until April or May, but I think we’re going to be in there probably January,” Walsh said. “They’re painting now; they’re really moving.”

In all, the plan calls for the hiring of 55 sworn officers and 19 civilian personnel. Nine officers would be on the streets per shift, as opposed to the five officers per shift the Sheriff’s Department now provides.

In a report to the City Council following approval of the Menifee PD a year ago, city attorney Jeffrey Melching said the estimated start-up costs of $5.3 million would be recovered within two years. Already budgeted for that cost is $3.7 million in Measure DD sales tax revenue and $3.1 million in developer impact fees collected by the City.

The fact that Menifee budgeted for extra deputies the Sheriff's Department hasn't been able to provide because of a manpower shortage has left an additional surplus.

The Sheriff’s Department contract is estimated to be $19.2 million in the 2019-20 fiscal year, Melching said at the time. The Menifee PD budget is estimated to be $14.2 million in its first year. By the year 2023-24, the Sheriff’s contract would escalate to approximately $25.5 million, while the Menifee PD budget is expected to be $16.8 million, he said.

A standing-room only crowd watched the swearing in of the Menifee Police Department's first officers.