New Chief in town

AI Davis takes over the MLPD Chief.

After living his entire life in Ventura, California, new Mammoth Lakes Police (MLPD) Chief Al Davis won’t miss the beach. “The only thing I’ll miss are the sunsets over the ocean,” he said from his office at the Mammoth Lakes Police Department. “But I turn around and look at the sunsets over the mountains here, or the sunrises, and they’re just incredible.”

Chief Davis applied for the position as MLPD Chief because of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and the community. A self-described “avid outdoorsman,” he likes to fish, hunt, ski, and backpack, first visiting the area as a kid in the Boy Scouts. “It’s different coming to Mammoth as a visitor and working here,” he said. “You have to learn how to live in it…you’re not just sitting in the resort taking the gondola up to the ski lift.”

With major budget cuts over the last several years, less than adequate staffing, and the impending move of the Police Department offices, Chief Davis, who started December 29, has his work cut out for him. His strategy for now is to “sit back and take it all in,” he said, which means attending countless meetings, talking with the community and his officers to “get a feel for where we need to go, and what, if

anything, needs to change,” he said. “I’m not a person who just changes something to change. There has to be reason to make a change. But I’m not afraid of change, either.”

In the long term, Davis said he would be “looking at how we can increase staffing levels and move the Department by 2017.”

Retired Chief Dan Watson has been a “tremendous resource,” Davis said. “He cares about this community and he wants to make sure it’s left in good hands,” he said.

Watson’s advice to Davis: be involved in the community.

“He knew enough about my background to know that wasn’t a question,” Davis said. Both of Davis’ parents were active members of the community in Ventura, and “It’s just something I continue doing because of them.”

Davis’ father passed away New Year’s Eve, and Davis’ first few weeks on the job have been mixed with traveling back to Ventura to take care of things and attend the memorial. “His passing brought up a lot of memories of what he’s shown me,” Davis said. “I’m glad I got the job before he passed and he knew I’m here.”

Despite his father’s passing, Davis worked New Year’s Eve. He spent most of his time at the Village. With temperatures below freezing, at one point he remembers asking himself “what was I thinking moving here?” But all in all, “it was a great chance [for me] to check out the town. I’ve seen a lot worse, believe me.”

Davis is a veteran of the Ventura Police Department (VPD) for 32 years, starting at 18 as police cadet before becoming an officer three years later. He decided on a career in law enforcement after getting to know cops at the local doughnut shop he worked at and going on a ride-along with a VPD Sergeant.

“I had a night that was unbelievable. There were major traffic collisions, a pursuit, and an overturned oil tanker on the freeway,” Davis said.  At the time, he was attending classes at Ventura College intending to go into petroleum engineering. After becoming a cadet, he switched his degree to Administration of Justice.

Davis worked almost every facet of the VPD, including Patrol, Narcotics Detective, SWAT, and Supervisor of the Special Enforcement Team. His most recent position was as Commander of the Field Services Division and SWAT teams, as well as managing the K9 program and the Traffic & Parking Division.

“When I try to pin it all down, I realize I did a lot,” Davis said. “I was put in the middle of a variety of assignments and challenges.

“I see a whole lot of things here that are very similar. Trying to make sure the businesses do well, but also deal with issues as they come up, and special events. They’re all things I’ve dealt with already.”

Davis is confident that his ability to obtain State funds through grant writing will be integral. He listed several instances where his grant applications paid for overtime, equipment, as well as part and full time positions. He is already working on one application, due at the end of the month, for Officer Traffic Safety. “It would be nice to increase the staffing so that people can do specific work and do it really well instead of just keep the fires out,” he said.

With the low staffing levels, Davis plans on covering field duty and is “ready to roll in a moment’s notice,” he said. As a Commander in Ventura, Davis was mostly in the office doing administrative duties, only occasionally responding to calls. “It’s fun that I can roll out to calls and not be the Chief but just the cop handling a call,” he said.

Despite the slower pace of law enforcement in Mammoth versus Ventura, “you can never really take the cop out of the cop,” he said. “The calls for service here in a span of a day happen in an hour in Ventura. But there are other challenges that are just as exciting here.”

One example: the bears.

In Ventura, Davis worked animal control and only had one bear call in his entire career there. The call came in at 3 a.m. and Davis responded, figuring it had to be a raccoon or some other animal. “Sure enough, it was a bear up in a palm tree,” Davis laughed. “We sat and waited and finally he climbed down. We chased him with sirens back up into the mountains.”

Davis said he “hit it off” with Wildlife Specialist Steve Searles and he’s “really excited about going out on some of these bear calls. I’m learning a lot about the bears— what we do and what we don’t do.”

Collaboration with a variety of organizations and agencies is signature of Davis’ career at the VPD and he readily aligned himself with newly instated Sheriff Braun and her message of communication and collaboration. “She’s going to revitalize that department. She’s got some great ideas and is dynamic. I’ve spoken to a lot of the deputies and they’re excited,” he said.

Davis plans to stay in Mammoth for the long haul, with a goal of remaining Chief “as long as it feels right and then most likely retire and live here,” he said.

He encourages people to introduce themselves and intends to do ‘Coffee with the Chief’ meetings around town once he’s more settled into the job. “In Ventura, I knew somebody everywhere and that’s fun. Here it’s even better because it’s smaller and I’ll pretty much know everybody soon.”

Davis, 51, has a daughter and grand-daughter in Chandler, Arizona, along with family in Ventura.