Marina police chief appointed to serve on state POST commission on police training.

Gov. Gavin Newson appointed four people to the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) on Dec 1. One of them is Marina Police Chief Tina Nieto.

The governor appoints 15 commissioners, who have to be confirmed by the State Senate. Appointees don’t receive any compensation for their advisory roles, and serve for three-year overlapping terms. The POST commissioners include seats for law enforcement professionals, county administrators, educators and community members.

This commission is in charge of setting the state’s standards for training and selection in law enforcement. More than 600 agencies statewide participate in the POST program, which offers training courses, assessment  tools and research into improved officer selection standards.

In the coming months, the commission will work on implementing Senate Bill 2, meant to increase accountability in law enforcement by creating a system to report, investigate, revoke or suspend certification a law enforcement officer's certification and disqualify them from serving as a peace officer in the event that an officer engages in serious misconduct. 

Nieto, 58, has been Marina’s Police chief for four years and she has been a Monterey County community restorative justice commissioner since 2018. Nieto is also running for Monterey County sheriff in 2022.

Before joining Marina PD, Nieto worked for 28 years with the Los Angeles Police Department, where she became the first Latina in LAPD to get a captain 1 level.