Stahl appointed permanent police chief

City Manager Brenda Fischer announced Monday that Interim Police Chief Steve Stahl has been appointed police chief.

Stahl will take over the permanent position Feb. 13 and ceremonially be sworn in as part of the Feb. 21 Maricopa City Council meeting.

His salary will be $127,000 a year, which is $802 less than the former police chief.

Stahl said he looked forward to the department’s growth and the opportunity to bring a sense of pride and ownership of the department to the officers and civilians who work at the police department.

“I want them to be walk around and be proud to say, ‘I am a member of the Maricopa Police Department,'” he said.

Stahl lives in Gilbert and said he may move to Maricopa if market conditions improve and he can sell his house.

Interim chief since October, Stahl has overseen an audit of the police department, implemented new policies and procedures, and worked on enhancing internal and external communications, negotiating salaries, streamling operations, and increasing community outreach.

“While holding the title of interim chief, Stahl has made a permanent impression on this city,” Fischer said in a press release. She explained her reasons for changing her initial strategy for filling the position.

“When the police chief position became vacant, I stated that the interim chief would not be a candidate for the permanent position,” Fischer said. “I did this so that the interim chief would make decisions in the best interest of the police department, not in the best interest of their application for the position. When I made that statement, I had no idea that a professional of Chief Stahl’s caliber would be serving as interim chief.”

“Through my observations and the feedback I’ve received from the community, our city council members, the police department staff, and others, I knew we had the best qualified candidate already on board,” Fischer said. “He has proven to be a great fit with our organization and our community and I am excited to appoint him police chief.”

Stahl, 51, has been working with the city of Maricopa since Oct. 31 through an intergovernmental agency agreement with the city of Mesa.

During his tenure in Mesa, Stahl had numerous assignments as part of the department leadership team. He oversaw the crime lab, jail, two patrol districts, special operations, the gang unit and the SWAT Team. His last assignment was as the commander over the human resources department.

He took over as interim chief after Police Chief Patrick Melvin retired.

“I am truly humbled by this appointment and the trust that City Manager Fischer has placed in me,” Stahl said. “I fervently look forward to leading the exceptional men and women of our department toward future goals and crime-fighting missions to attain and maintain the highest level of professionalism.