Mayor Gloria has picked from within the current ranks of the San Diego Police Department for his new chief – and announced Thursday that it will be Assistant Chief Scott Wahl. The current chief David Nisleit retires in late June.
Wahl, a native San Diegan, was selected after a nationwide search for candidates and still must be approved in a majority vote by the San Diego City Council before being sworn in.
From NBC7News:
Wahl’s appointment follows a brief stint in his current role as assistant chief of special projects and legislative affairs, which he has he held since September 2023. Wahl has served with the department for 25 years, working in almost every role and rank including as an officer, detective, sergeant, lieutenant, captain and most-recently assistant chief. …
He spent a stint as head of the Western Division, which serves Ocean Beach and Point Loma.
According to the San Diego Police museum, Wahl follows in his father Michael’s footsteps. The elder Wahl ended a 35-year career with SDPD when he retired at the rank of detective. “I’m a fourth-generation San Diegan. I’m born and raised here. I grew up the son of a San Diego police officer. Doing this job is all I’ve ever wanted to do,” Wahl said.
It’s not unusual for mayors to pick from within, NBC reports:
Nisleit’s retirement marks the end of a nearly 36-and-a-half-year law enforcement career, culminated by more than six years as the city’s highest-ranking officer. Nisleit took the reigns as chief in March 2018 after being appointed by former Mayor Kevin Faulconer to replace outgoing Chief Shelley Zimmerman, who served from 2014 until her retirement.
Chief William Lansdowne, Zimmerman’s predecessor, was hired following a national search, and the only chief in the last 50 years that has been hired from outside the department. [Rag’s emphasis]
