The force was with Hillcrest April 28, as San Diego Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman and her staff descended on the LGBT Center en masse for a town-hall style meeting. With upwards of two-dozen police officers on hand to listen and support their new police chief, Zimmerman addressed a full auditorium.<\/p>\n Self-professed workaholic Todd Gloria, City Council president and District Three’s representative, introduced San Diego’s new police chief \u2014 the 34th in the city\u2019s history and its first woman \u2014 noting Zimmerman was even more dedicated than he since she was spending her birthday at the townhall.<\/p>\n Not a sports fan himself, Gloria pointed out that Zimmerman, a Cleveland, Ohio native, is \u201cthe world’s biggest Ohio State fan,\u201d her alma mater.<\/p>\n Claiming he has \u201cthe best council district in the city,\u201d Gloria then pointed out District Three and the LGBT community, have some unique needs and concerns.<\/p>\n Zimmerman thanked the packed auditorium for the \u201cfantastic turnout,\u201d noting it \u201creaffirms how committed all of us are and shows all of us care as one community wanting to make things better.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe are going to embark on a journey together to make San Diego the safest large city in the nation,\u201d Zimmerman said.<\/p>\n The new police chief said City law enforcement under her direction is committed to spending \u201cevery single second of every single day\u201d honoring the words written on patrol cars which say, \u201cAmerica’s finest.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThose are not just words, they are our core values,\u201d Zimmerman said, adding that one of her top priorities is to ensure people feel safe wherever they live in San Diego.<\/p>\n The police skipper also pledged openness and transparency and promised to listen as well.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to hear the community’s concerns about our department either positive or negative,\u201d she said. \u201cWe want to improve our relationship with all our communities.\u201d<\/p>\n Zimmerman spent more than half an hour fielding audience questions about a plethora of topics, everything from homelessness and racial and gender profiling to texting and distracted driving, bicycle safety and alleged sexual abuses committed recently by police officers.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s all about reassuring our public that we are committed to transparency,\u201d\u00a0 Zimmerman answered.<\/p>\n \u201cRetention and recruitment of officers,\u201d was Zimmerman’s answer when asked what the biggest challenge was confronting today’s San Diego’s police force, which she noted is going through a huge transition.<\/p>\n \u201cAlmost half of our officers will be eligible to retire in the next four years,\u201d the police chief said. \u201cHalf of our working patrol officers also have six or fewer years on our department \u2026 in some commands it’s 70 percent.\u201d<\/p>\n Though she said patrolling the city’s 350-square-mile jurisdiction with approximately 1.23 million people in 130-plus neighborhoods is a monumental task, Zimmerman promised it can be done if \u201cwe all work together as a team.\u201d<\/p>\n One local resident queried Zimmerman as to why curfew sweeps were only being done in City Heights.<\/p>\n![\"Police](\"https:\/\/sandiegodowntownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/zimmerman2.jpg\")
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