Vallejo hires former Selma, Calif., chief as new deputy chief

VALLEJO – The city of Vallejo has hired longtime Central Valley police officer and former Selma Police Chief Joseph Gomez as its new deputy chief, the city announced on Tuesday.

Gomez will fill one of two vacant deputy chief positions for the city of Vallejo. The first has been vacant since the termination of Deputy Chief Michael Kihmm in October 2021. The second has been vacant since former Police Chief Shawny Williams resigned in November and Deputy Chief Jason Ta was elevated to interim police chief.

“With an exceptional career spanning 37 years in law enforcement, Deputy Chief Gomez brings unparalleled expertise in gang enforcement, violent crime reduction, and fostering community trust,” the city of Vallejo announced in a press release on Tuesday.

Gomez worked for the Fresno Police Department for 32 years, rising to the rank of lieutenant and serving as the agency’s public information officer. During his time in Fresno, he was also the department’s gang task force commander and violent crime impact team commander, among other positions.

In 2020, Gomez left Fresno to become the police chief in Selma, California, according to FOX26. Selma is a Central Valley city of about 24,000 people with a police department of about 30 officers.

Gomez mysteriously left his police chief position about a year after joining that department. He suddenly stepped away in July 2021, but the city manager would not provide a reason, saying it was a confidential personnel matter, according to the Fresno Bee. By March 2022, he left the department entirely.

Gomez could not immediately be reached for comment.

Lt. Michael Nichelini, the president of the Vallejo Police Officers Association, said in a statement that the union welcomes Gomez and hopes that he "can help with moving the department in the right direction."

But Nichelini said that officers are facing "extreme workloads" because the department is at its lowest staffing in over a decade, and said that officers are leaving for other agencies where they are paid more, work less and are more supported by city leaders. "The Department is on the verge of total collapse to the point of not being able to provide any police service and there is no plan in place to correct any of these issues," Nichelini said.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to include a statement from the Vallejo Police Officers Association.