San Bernardino Police Department assistant chief selected to head El Monte Police Department

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EL MONTE >> Officials Friday announced the selection of a new chief to take the reigns of the El Monte Police Department later this month.
Following an “extensive” search, the city announced in a written statement that San Bernardino Police Department Assistant Police Chief Eric McBride will take over in El Monte Feb. 25.
He replaces former El Monte Police Chief Steve Schuster, who returned in December, and Interim Police Chief Roger Johnson, a retired Monrovia Police Chief who has been heading the department during the search for a permanent replacement.
The selection is the first time in city history that El Monte sought chief candidates from outside the department, officials said. Previous chiefs have been selected from within the department’s ranks.
The 24-year law enforcement veteran said he was excited and honored to be chosen to head the EMPD
“Law enforcement is pretty much the same, but every community is unique in it’s own way,” McBride said. “I’m really looking forward to getting to know the community and the department.”
After growing up in Ventura County and graduating high school, McBride joined the U.S. Marines and served more than six years, he said. Nine months of that service was spent overseas during the Persian Gulf War. After his military service, McBride joined the San Bernardino Police Department as a patrol officer in 1991, officials said.
McBride served as a SWAT team member and climbed the department’s ranks. He was promoted to captain in 2014, and named assistant chief the same year.
McBride was chosen from a field of 25 applications collected by Alliance Resource Consulting, which the city hired to conduct a nationwide search for a new police chief, city officials said. Six candidates were interviewed by panels of area police chiefs and city managers before El monte City Manager Raul Godinez II made the final selection, with input from the El Monte police officer’s and police mid-managers’ unions, officials added.
“Our interview committee not only was impressed by his qualifications and prior experience, but also by his community focus, thoughtful insights, reputation for integrity and leadership style. It was this combination of traits that made him our top choice for the job,” Godinez said.
El Monte Mayor Andre Quintero said he approved of the choice.
“El Monte is undergoing significant growth and development, and we need a police chief to be able to match our vision for the city,” the mayor said. “This was a competitive process with input from many trusted professionals.”
McBride earned a bachelor’s degree in political science with an emphasis on public administration from California Baptist university, as well as a master’s degree in criminal justice from Troy University and a certificate in Emergency Management from Auburn University, officials said.
He’s been married to his wife, Annette, for 26 years, he said. The couple has a 24-year-old son and a 22-year-old daughter.
He described himself as a “lifelong Dodger fan.”
McBride said he championed a “community policing” approach to law enforcement.
“Community policing is always important,” he said. “It’s important to always have that relationship with the community and make sure those ties are strong, and remain that way.”

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