With the ink on Police Chief Bill Pierpoint’s resignation barely
dry, the Hollister City Council approved the appointment of a
highly respected interim chief Monday.
By a 4-0 vote, the Council appointed Larry Todd, the former
chief of police for Los Gatos, to take over for Pierpoint starting
April 14.
With the ink on Police Chief Bill Pierpoint’s resignation barely dry, the Hollister City Council approved the appointment of a highly respected interim chief Monday.
By a 4-0 vote, the Council appointed Larry Todd, the former chief of police for Los Gatos, to take over for Pierpoint starting April 14.
Pierpoint will take time off between now and when he retires July 1. City officials said it was important to maintain the continuity within the department and decided to hire Todd, who was chief of the Los Gatos Police Department for more than 14 years before retiring in June.
“I believe the city is extremely fortunate to have a retired chief of police with the qualities possessed by Chief Todd,” Interim City Manager Ed Kreins said.
Todd’s appointment comes after reviewing an extensive list of credentials.
“Larry Todd comes with a wealth of experience and knowledge,” City Councilman Tony LoBue said.
Kreins said he selected Todd through a list of potential interim chiefs offered by the League of California Cities.
“They have a list of retired managers, police chiefs and planners and so on. So, if you are looking for someone to fill an interim position, you can call them and they will give you three or four names,” Kreins said. “These are all people who are very well qualified, people who are all retired and looking for interim positions.”
A former police chief himself, Kreins recognized the name and called a few of the places where Todd had worked and heard nothing but good reports about him.
“I called a couple of people and they all said if you can get Larry Todd, grab him now because he is really good,” Kreins said. “So I called a few other people I knew and they all said had the same thing to say about him.”
Pierpoint has been Hollister’s chief of police for the past five years and announced his retirement March 26.
Todd began his career with the West Covina Police Department, where he served for 15 years. He served the City of Pleasanton for two and one-half years as a captain and was appointed chief of police for Los Gatos in 1988.
Todd is a graduate of California State, Los Angeles with a degree in criminal justice. He also earned a master’s degree in criminology from Claremont Graduate School.
Todd has served on several committees for the governor’s office, the Department of Justice – as the president of the California Police Chiefs Association – and the League of California Cities.
He was the chairman of the state California Chiefs Standards and Ethics Committee and Firearms Issues Committee, and served on committees for the International Association of Chiefs of Police.
In 1999, Todd received an honor awarded to one chief of police each year as the person who best exemplifies outstanding leadership and professionalism in law enforcement. He is also a Medal of Valor recipient.
Todd did not attend Monday night’s meeting and was unavailable for comment.
