Police Chief, Captains sworn into service at Menifee City Council Meeting
The inaugural members of the Menifee Police Department were sworn into service at a City Council Meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 20 at 6 p.m. at City Hall. The Oath of Office & Badge Pinning Ceremony served as a welcome for Menifee’s first Police Chief, Patrick A. Walsh, along with Captains, David A. Gutierrez and Christopher M. Karrer. Also welcomed at the ceremony was Tiffani Sik, the Department’s first civilian staff member, who will serve as Senior Personnel and Training Analyst.
“This is a momentous occasion for Menifee,” said City Manager, Armando Villa. “Through the guidance and foresight of our City Council, we have been brought to this moment, which marks a truly remarkable and unique achievement for this City.”
Chief Pat Walsh is a decorated 35-year law enforcement leader. A graduate of the prestigious United States Naval Postgraduate School – Center for Homeland Defense and Security, he is widely known in the law enforcement community as an innovative reformer, passionate about training and accountability. He began his law enforcement career as a Deputy Sheriff in Los Angeles County in 1984. He transferred to the Portland Police Bureau (OR) in 1992 and served the City of Portland, Oregon for 22 years. As an officer in Portland, Walsh worked for many years as an undercover narcotics investigator assigned to a Federal Drug Interdiction Task Force. During that time he received a Chief’s commendation for his work in dismantling a multi-state drug distribution ring. Walsh later returned to the Narcotics and Vice Unit as a sergeant, supervising several teams of federal and local agents.
“I am honored, humbled and excited to welcome our new Captains and Tiffani to Menifee,” said Walsh. “We are assembling a talented, dedicated and experienced team and we are all looking forward to July 2020 when the Menifee Police Department officially rolls out and begins serving this amazing, growing community.”
Captain Chris Karrer started his path of service to others in 1994 when he joined the United States Marine Corps. He began his law enforcement career in January 2000 with the Hemet Police Department and transferred to the Los Alamitos Police Department in September 2001, where he worked patrol until 2007. In Los Alamitos, he entered the Detective Bureau and spent a total of six years as an investigator and later as a Supervisor after a short deployment back in patrol. As a detective, Karrer handled all types of crimes from property to crimes against persons and even had a homicide case featured in an online video production of “America’s Most Wanted”. He was promoted to Corporal in 2012, Sergeant in 2013 and Captain in 2017, where he led Department Operations and Support Services for the Los Alamitos Police Department.
Captain Gutierrez began his law enforcement career in 2002 with the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department, where he served as a jail deputy, gang intelligence deputy, and patrol deputy. In November of 2006, he lateraled to the newly formed Citrus Heights Police Department as one of their inaugural police officers. After serving in various roles, including field training officer and gang and narcotics detective, in addition to serving on the county wide gang task force, he was promoted to Sergeant in 2013. As a sergeant, Gutierrez served as a supervisor for patrol, traffic and defensive tactics. In 2015, he was promoted to Lieutenant, where he served as a patrol watch commander, special operations lieutenant, professional standards and training lieutenant and the department’s public information officer. He has also led many specialty units, including traffic, problemoriented policing, code enforcement, animal services, crime scene investigation and property and evidence.
Tiffani Sik joined the Menifee Police Department in September as the Senior Police Personnel and Training Analyst. She comes to the City of Menifee with almost 20 years of public service, including 15 years with the Murrieta Police Department and Code Enforcement. Prior to that, she was with the County of Riverside in Code Enforcement and the Moreno Valley Unified School District working with Career Development.
Applications for employment with the Menifee Police Department are currently open. View open positions