Updated 5:27 p.m. Wednesday to add Zimmerman comments on her hiring and the state of the department.
Only 24 hours after the vacancy opened, Shelley Zimmerman was named Wednesday by Mayor-elect Kevin Faulconer to be the new police chief of San Diego.
Zimmerman, currently an assistant chief, will succeed William Lansdowne, who announced his resignation Tuesday.
Zimmerman said she was grateful for the opportunity to lead the department and thanked Lansdowne for placing her in a leadership role. She also fired a shot across the bow of prospective “bad apples.”
“I can tell you without question that 99.9 percent of our officers serve every single day with honor, with distinction and professionalism,” Zimmerman said. “And for those few that make the absolute terrible decision to discredit this badge and dishonor our profession, I will not tolerate this.”
She also said she supports a proposed outside audit of the department.
Lansdowne, 69, has been the city of San Diego’s top law enforcement officer for more than a decade. He called Zimmerman, according to NBC7-San Diego’s Twitter feed, “the right person” to take over his slot.
On Friday, Faulconer met with the chief to discuss the direction of the department in the wake of accusations of on-duty sexual improprieties by several officers.
Though Faulconer did not ask him to resign, Lansdowne “felt it was time to do so,” according to SDPD public-affairs Lt. Kevin Mayer.
“The chief absolutely supports the new mayor and believes in his vision and direction for the city,” Mayer said. “This was a difficult decision for Chief Lansdowne to make, as he considers San Diego his home and truly values the citizens of this city and the employees who work here.”
Faulconer said Lansdowne informed him of his decision to depart late Monday.
– City News Service