Palm Springs has selected a 24-year veteran of its police department to become the city's next police chief.
Deputy Chief Kyle Stjerne will succeed retiring Chief Andy Mills on Sept. 6, the city announced in a press release on Monday, Aug. 31. Mills announced in July that he would retire Sept. 5 after nearly five years as chief in Palm Springs and a 48-year law enforcement career.
Stjerne joined the Palm Springs Police Department as an officer in 2002 and has since served in several leadership roles, including detective sergeant, SWAT team leader and commander, internal affairs sergeant, lieutenant and captain. He became deputy chief in January.
The new chief was chosen City Manager Scott Stiles. The manager is appointed by the elected city council
and has duties that include naming department heads.
As deputy chief, Stjerne has overseen the department's day-to-day operations and its $46 million budget. He has also led major criminal investigations, critical incidents and special events, including presidential visits, the city said.
Stjerne earned a bachelor's degree in sociology from San Diego State University and completed leadership programs through Harvard University and the Police Executive Research Forum, a national organization for police leaders.
He called his selection as the city's police chief "the profound honor of my professional life."
"We will honor the successes that brought us here while boldly shaping what comes next by leading with integrity, clarity, authenticity, transparency, and genuine community engagement," Stjerne said in a press release. "It is important to me that we relentlessly pursue excellence in all that we do, so we can continue to effectively deter crime, improve quality of life, and truly set a standard for modern policing that Palm Springs can be proud of."
This is a developing story and will be updated.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Palm Springs names new police chief to replace retiring Andy Mills
