Dennis Hegwood took the helm of the King City Police Department as interim chief late Wednesday, where he's leading a shaken department that's missing about a third of its force after they were arrested on Tuesday morning.
"My goal is to provide strong leadership to the men and women of the King City Police Department with a focus on community service and professionalism," Hegwood said in a statement.
Hegwood has over 30 years of experience in law enforcement, and serves as a criminal justice instructor at Cuesta College in San Luis Obispo and a consultant in the areas of law enforcement and organizational management. He is a past recipient of the governor's award for organizational achievement.
His career includes serving as police chief in Rialto and Atascadero, where his resignation in 2004 was marked by a contentious payout package after unsubstantiated allegations of sexual assault, according to news reports.
The Atascadero News reported that more than $500,000 in settlements were paid out to former police officers from 2004-2011, including a package of more than $64,600 paid out to Hegwood upon his 2004 departure.
Hegwood was not immediately available for comment Thursday morning.
Atascadero city officials asked Hegwood to resign after allegations of rape, although he was eventually cleared, according to CalCoastNews.com. "After first asking him to stay, city officials determined Hegwood should resign because ‘he had lost his moral authority,' and agreed to support Hegwood’s plan to apply for industrial disability, according to the resignation agreement," according to the 2011 news article.
Prior to his service in Atascadero, Hegwood served as the city of Rialto's first black police chief from 1993-97.
News articles indicate Rialto dealt with rapid police chief turnover in the '90s, and the police union took a vote of no confidence against Hegwood in 1996. His resignation from Rialto was reportedly connected to racial discrimination against a black chief, and prompted an initial U.S. Department of Justice investigation into racism at the Rialto P.D. in 1997.
Hegwood was appointed yesterday by City Manager Michael Powers, who has gotten to know him through trainings he's done for the King City P.D. As to the past, Powers says, "I'm sure people are going to want to make the story about the accusations, but the real story is, we're moving forward."