As Morgan Hill Police Chief Jerry Galvin prepares to retire Dec.
30, City Manager Ed Tewes on Tuesday named Bruce Cumming as interim
chief while the search for a new chief is underway.
As Morgan Hill Police Chief Jerry Galvin prepares to retire Dec. 30, City Manager Ed Tewes on Tuesday named Bruce Cumming as interim chief while the search for a new chief is underway.
Cumming is the former police chief for the city of Menlo Park. He retired from the Menlo Park department in 1999 after 11 years as its chief.
Prior to his time as chief, he worked his way up through the ranks of the Palo Alto Police Department, leaving as a captain.
According to Tewes, Cumming has held two interim jobs since retirement: interim police chief for Fort Bragg and his current interim job as chief of security for Hastings College of Law in San Francisco. The Hastings assignment ends Jan. 15, Tewes said, and Cumming will begin in Morgan Hill shortly after.
“It suits me to a ‘T,’” he said. “It is a lot of fun taking on a new job and quite interesting. I have the opportunity to meet all sorts of interesting people. I’m working at a law school right now, and it’s in San Francisco right on the edge of the Tenderloin district, so it keeps us on our toes. But working at a school and meeting all the students is completely different.”
Cumming, who has lived in San Carlos for 27 years, was in Morgan Hill earlier in the week to meet with the department. He will be introduced to the community at the Jan. 21 City Council meeting.
As interim, Cumming will receive a flat rate of $12,000 per month and will not receive city employee benefits.
Tewes said he has asked Cumming to provide administrative leadership in the department and to help develop a recruitment plan to fill the position permanently.
A native Californian, Cumming has three adult children: a son who is a police officer in Pacifica, a son who is an EMT in Culver City and a daughter who is a beautician in San Jose.
Cumming said he and retiring Police Chief Jerry Galvin went to the police academy together.
“We knew each other, just not well,” said Cumming. “He was class president; we recognized his leadership abilities even then.”
Looking to his future in the MHPD, Cumming said he is inheriting a good department.
“Jerry left the organization in good shape,” he said. “I look forward to spending more time getting to know everyone. The big thing on the horizon is the new police station.
“My goal is just to make sure that stays on track. There won’t be any major changes in the department. I may tinker with it, if there is something that needs attending to, but they’re going to teach me as much as I teach them, if not more. I have a few bits of wisdom in my head and they’re going to help me learn Morgan Hill.”
