Acting Capt. Terrie Booten of the Morgan Hill Police Dept. was
promoted to lieutenant on Monday. Actually Booten, a 23-year
veteran of the department and its highest ranking sergeant, has
been filling the captain
’s position left vacant in June 2002 when Capt. Carey Sullivan
left to become chief of the Woodland Police Dept.
Acting Capt. Terrie Booten of the Morgan Hill Police Dept. was promoted to lieutenant on Monday. Actually Booten, a 23-year veteran of the department and its highest ranking sergeant, has been filling the captain’s position left vacant in June 2002 when Capt. Carey Sullivan left to become chief of the Woodland Police Dept.
“Terrie is just super,” said Police Chief Jerry Galvin, said on Monday. “She is always energetic, always looking out for the citizens and the police in this town.”
Booten became acting chief in July 2002 when Galvin badly injured his knee while jogging and was sidelined for several weeks.
“She was a real life saver when I was out,” Galvin said.
Booten’s is the first member of the Morgan Hill department to be promoted above the rank of sergeant in 20 years. One other lieutenant’s position will be filled from outside, Galvin said. An offer has been made but he is waiting to hear from the candidate and for background checks before an announcement will be made.
Galvin said, when he reorganized the department in 2002 into three divisions – special operations (investigations), field operations (patrol) and support (the civilian side) – he gave up one captain and one sergeant position. Booten will be assigned to head field operations; the second new lieutenant will head up special operations.
Booten said she got to choose.
“We have a lot of young supervisors and officers (in patrol),” she said, “and I’m looking forward to developing their leadership abilities. There’s a lot of talent there.” Booten will command the day to day activities of the uniformed police officers on patrol, including Sasko the K-9 unit.
The special operations division is the investigation unit.
Civilian Patti Yinger heads up the civilian support group that includes, among other duties, records and dispatch.
“It’s good for the department,” Galvin said about Booten’s promotion.
Mary Kaye Fisher, director of human resources, said the position of police lieutenant in Morgan Hill has a pay scale between $86,870 and $108,540, with room for a 2.5 percent performance pay addition.
Booten moved to Morgan Hill more than two decades ago when she was 18-years old and the population – now 35,000 – was 8,400.
“I used to ride my horse downtown,” she said, “to have lunch or to do a little shopping.” There were more places to tie up a horse then.
She no longer owns a horse but she does own a 1986 Mustang and is active in Shelby Mustang car clubs. In December Booten joined the local Kiwanis Club.
“I wanted to be part of the community and I liked that they are a service organization,” she said. Monday she was on a ladder at Fourth Street and Monterey Road, repairing two American flags that had drooped from their appointed positions on the period light standards. Kiwanis installs and maintains the flags along the street.
A career in law enforcement was an early decision.
“Somebody recommended that I join the police reserves while I was still working in the family restaurant business in San Jose,” she said. On her first time out as a reserve the officers got a call that a woman was threatening to commit suicide.
“Because I had lived in town, I knew the woman,” Booten said. She talked the woman into getting help, walking on her own to the ambulance Booten had called.
“I knew then that I had found my niche,” she said.
Booten said she isn’t thinking of becoming a captain or a chief of police in the future.
“We’ll take this one step at a time,” she said. “I want to do this (lieutenant) well before I think of what’s next.”
She is thinking of beginning a master’s degree program next year – possibly in leadership.
The new lieutenant said there has been some uncertainty at the department this past year.
“We were uncertain about the command staff,” she said, referring to the time it took to get lieutenants in place after Sullivan departed – almost a year. And the police department is hit with the same budget restraint and hiring freeze the rest of city staff is dealing with.
“But we will find a way to serve the people,” she said.
The city is attempting to buy a building in which to move the department. It is far larger than the building at West Main Avenue and Monterey Road where they have squeezed in for more than 20 years.
“We are anxiously awaiting the move,” she said.
While Booten is unmarried and has no children she does have friends.
“Lots of friends,” she said. Her hobbies are largely outdoors and she looks forward to owning a horse at her second home near Lake Don Pedro – after she retires.
“There are 150 miles of dedicated equestrian trails there,” Booten said.
