CALEXICO — The Calexico police chief has confirmed that he plans to retire, although the city has not yet decided exactly how and when. The news comes not long after the police officers union submitted a vote of no confidence against him to City Council in early January.
The Calexico Police Officers Association submitted a vote of no confidence against Calexico Police Chief Jim Neujahr to the council in early January, alleging he was an inefficient leader and requesting new leadership.
Neujahr has served in the position since December 2007 and previously worked for the department since 1994 after transferring from the Bishop Police Department.
It’s unclear at this point exactly when he will actually retire or how the position will be handled between his absence and replacement.
Tuesday night’s City Council special meeting resulted with no reportable action, but it’s believed that those details will be officially settled within the coming week.
“It’s actually welcome and good news to finally be told what’s going on, because there’s been zero communication with administrative staff and officers for the past few weeks,” CPOA President Rudy Alarcon said. “It impacts in the sense that there’s no sense of direction.”
Several officers agreed, saying that morale has been down as the department is in limbo.
“It’s a bit nerve-wracking, and it’s affected how folks go and do their daily activities,” CPOA Vice President Luis Casillas said. “I’m glad that there’s going to be some movement, some change. We wish the chief good luck in his future endeavors whatever they may be.”
Alarcon said that while he likes Neujahr personally, he felt it was necessary to request a new chief.
“His personality was not what was in question but really decisions that he was making as a whole,” he said. “We welcome change for the betterment of the department and are looking forward to working with the new leader whoever it might be.”
There are already names of potential chiefs floating around, but “all they are at this point are speculation and rumors but nothing solid,” Casillas said.
He added that while it’s not the union’s decision who the next chief will be, union representatives would like to part of the selection process.
“We’ve brought up issues to the council for three to four years, and they’ve finally decided to take some sort of action,” he said. “We welcome the new commander and look forward to working with whoever it is.”
Neujahr said that after 32 years in law enforcement, there’ll definitely be some adjustment to retirement, but he very much looks forward to working on some personal projects.
Staff Writer Chelcey Adami can be reached at 760-337-3452 or cadami@ivpressonline.com
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