San Diego Police Department Executive Assistant Police Chief Bill Maheu will be out of uniform when he leaves his position at the end of the month. The question remains, however, whether the uniform will be out of Maheu.
Maheu, who has served as the department’s second in command, is leaving for a position with Qualcomm Stadium developing technology for emergency responders.
“It’s going to be hard,” said Maheu, who has held his current position since 2004. “There’s no doubt. I was 21 years old by three days when I started this [police work].
“I’ve felt like I need to put myself in between the good guys and the bad guys; that’s what we do as cops. Whether it’s been on or off duty, I’ve always felt the need to do that. I don’t know if that’s ever going to go away.”
Once thought to be next in line for the position of police chief, news of Maheu’s departure has been bittersweet for colleagues in a department that is just getting back on its feet after being beset by years of staffing and funding shortages.
“Chief Maheu has been a true leader and pioneer within the department in many areas,” said Police Chief William Lansdowne in a statement. “Qualcomm’s gain is truly the department’s loss. He will be sorely missed. ¨
Lansdowne’s sentiment echoes throughout the city’s emergency response system.
“Bill’s a wonderful guy, a fascinating individual,” said San Diego Fire-Rescue Department Assistant Chief Jeff Carle.
“Nobody faults him for leaving the city,” said Carle, who has worked with Maheu over the years on arson investigations. “He’s a techno wizard and a great fit for Qualcomm.”
Over his 27-year career with SDPD, Maheu has held a variety of positions, including undercover narcotics, SWAT, hostage negotiation, patrol officer, Psychiatric Emergency Response Team (PERT), and the Homeless Outreach Team (HOT). He has been an integral part of the San Diego Police Foundation, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) established to provide supplemental equipment and resources for SDPD.
Wenda Alvarez, president and CEO of the foundation, said Maheu’s vision and passion for the benefits of technology led to many of the $2.4 million in grant awards made by the foundation. Recently, the foundation received a $1 million donation to put PDA devices into the hands of hundreds of patrol officers.
“The new position (at Qualcomm) allows me to not just to affect this police department but communications across public safety,” said Maheu. “Literally, we want to change the way public safety looks at communications, make it safer, save people’s lives and provide an additional methodology by which law enforcement and fire [officials] can communicate with each other and to the community.”
Maheu said he has seen tremendous changes to police work over the years, especially in new technology used to fight crime. When he started in 1980, he said that not every officer had his or her own radio. Now, he said, patrol cars “look like space ships.”
Though there have been many changes, Maheu said some things in policing have remained constant.
“The bad guys. We just never run out of those,” he said. “I’ve seen the worst in society and the best. You see people really step up to the plate.”
Maheu describes his current position as executive assistant chief as being the COO and CFO of a $400 million organization with 2,800 employees and 1.3 million stockholders, all having access to his board of directors: the City Council. Maheu oversees operations issues, staffing and budgeting among a variety of other tasks.
His new position with Qualcomm starts Feb. 4. SDPD recently announced Maheu will be replaced by Assistant Chief Dave Ramirez.
“I’d like to see him continue to push the envelope on technology and make San Diego PD a test bed for new and innovative technology ideas,” said Maheu, “and continue with the strong, humanistic approach we’ve had toward policing “¦ It’s manifested throughout the way we do things. The return from the communities is tenfold.”
Though handing in the handcuffs will prove difficult for him in some regards, Maheu said he is looking forward to making the career transition.
“There comes a point in time that everything comes to an end,” said Maheu. “That doesn’t mean that it was bad. It’s just a change in life. Look for the things that are similar in the new position and say, ‘OK, that’s going to be the easy transition.'”