Law enforcement veteran and 2008 Morgan Hill employee of the
year Cmdr. David Swing is the city’s new police chief effective
Jan. 3. Swing, 39, brings 15 years of experience with the Morgan
Hill Police Department to his new post. He started his career as a
reserve officer and worked his way up the ranks. He is currently
commander, a position he has held since 2006.
Law enforcement veteran and 2008 Morgan Hill employee of the year Cmdr. David Swing is the city’s new police chief effective Jan. 3.
Swing, 39, brings 15 years of experience with the Morgan Hill Police Department to his new post. He started his career as a reserve officer and worked his way up the ranks. He is currently commander, a position he has held since 2006.
“I’m very humbled and it’s quite an honor, and it’s with a great sense of pride that I take on this responsibility,” Swing said, noting he did not expect to be a police chief at this point in his career. “I look forward to leading the organization where I grew up as an officer, and being part of the management team to help lead our city in the right direction.”
Swing already has both some short-term and long-term ideas to consider when he starts as chief, including technology to bring more efficiency to the deployment of officers to their assignments. He also wants to “ensure we are actively engaging with the community,” and will offer to meet with neighborhoods and homeowners’ associations.
And for the more distant future, Swing wants to work with community stake holders on a long-range “strategic plan.”
“I think it’s important to set a defined direction, after listening to what’s important to the community to see where our focus needs to be,” Swing said. “A good strategic planning process will help elicit those various interests.”
MHPD veteran, officer Michael Brookman, has been on the police force since 1985 and has worked with Swing since he joined. He said he is “excited” to see Swing gain the promotion to chief.
“He used to ride with me as a reserve, and there was something about him, I just knew he would do well,” Brookman said. “He knows the community, he knows what the city needs, and he knows what we need.”
City manager Ed Tewes appointed Swing to the position after a three-month nationwide recruitment, to which 64 applicants responded. Tewes said he selected Swing to be the city’s chief of police because of his leadership and experience – not only as an officer on the streets but on budgeting and program administration as well.
“David has demonstrated leadership in every role he has filled in the Morgan Hill Police Department,” Tewes said. “His commitment to the department and community is matched by his energy and creativity, which will be essential to enhancing public safety in the new fiscal environment.”
Illustrating Swing’s ability to meet current, and likely future, financial difficulties when it comes to administering public safety in Morgan Hill include his recent role in securing grants for the city’s G.R.E.A.T. gang education program, a grant for domestic violence services (which was renewed this year), and a “significant” reduction in MHPD’s overtime budget, according to a press release from the city manager’s office.
In addition, he created or suggested programs that have generated new revenue for the city when traditional sources of funds declined in recent years, the press release said. Although the city’s financial strain resulted in the elimination of three officer positions in the police department in the past two years, Swing’s efforts helped to prevent additional personnel reductions, city staff said.
The budget will likely be a challenge again next year, Swing said, though he doesn’t expect a need to eliminate any staff positions.
Also demonstrating Swing’s qualifications and leadership is his current assignment outside the city as an instructor at the South Bay Regional Safety Training Consortium.
For these and other efforts, Swing was named the city’s employee of the year in 2008.
City staff also described Swing, who lives in Hollister with his wife Susie and two daughters, as an active member of the community and his church. He has served as a board member of his local school district, a board member for Community Solutions and is a graduate of the Morgan Hill Leadership class of 2001.
Furthermore, he has a B.A. degree in public relations, and a Masters degree in public administration from San Jose State University, according to the press release. Earlier this year, he completed the police officer standards and training command college.
Swing will fill the position formerly occupied by Bruce Cumming, who served as chief since 2004 and retired this summer. Since September, the chief’s position has been occupied on an interim basis by Dan Ortega, who retired last year as chief of police in the city of Salinas.
Ortega will remain in Morgan Hill as interim chief until Swing takes over in January.
The Morgan Hill Police Department currently employs 52 people, including 36 sworn officers plus support, dispatch and administrative staff. The department has a budget of $10.4 million this year.
Swing’s starting salary will be $160,000 per year. Cumming received a base salary of about $171,000, plus about another $30,000 in benefits and leave payouts in 2009.
