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Mountain View police Capt. Jessica Nowaski has been tapped to be the city’s next deputy police chief, working as second-in-command in leading the police department during a critical time.
Nowaski will replace current Deputy Police Chief Chris Hsiung, who will be the city’s new police chief following the retirement of Police Chief Max Bosel this month. The position of deputy chief is relatively new, created in July last year, and the role has largely been shaped by Bosel and Hsiung over the last year.
The police department has contended with a two-fold challenge over the last year with the coronavirus pandemic — including enforcement of public health orders — as well as civil unrest and demands for police reform. Police officials say they are amenable to changing use of force policies and are willing to build a more trusting relationship between cops and residents, but how that looks will largely depend on the department’s new leadership.
Nowaski is a 25-year veteran of the Mountain View Police Department, serving numerous roles since she joined in 1995 including detective, hostage negotiator and bike patrol officer, according to a statement by the city. She was promoted to sergeant in 2008, and quickly rose through the ranks as a police lieutenant in 2011 and a captain in 2014. Since then, she has overseen the city’s special operations and field operations divisions and managed the dispatch center.
Nowaski has also spent her career researching leadership and coaching in the world of law enforcement, and has presented her work internationally, according to the city. The Mountain View Police Department traditionally hires in-house for its leadership positions, and has made it a priority in recent years to provide officers with the training and soft skills they need to be future leaders.
As deputy chief, Nowaski will be responsible for overseeing much of the day-to-day operations of the police department. The relatively new role is also responsible for so-called succession planning, preparing for a possible wave of retirements in the coming years. As of 2019, 43% of sworn officers will be eligible for retirement in the next five years.
