By Khalida Sarwari and Janna Brancolini
Interim Palo Alto police Chief Dennis Burns said today he will focus on improving community relations and community policing efforts if he becomes the new permanent top cop.
Burns was chosen by the city of Palo Alto to head the department, potentially ending a 10-month search to replace former Chief Lynne Johnson.
City Manager James Keene has recommended Burns for the job, and if the City Council confirms him on Sept. 21, Burns will officially take over the department the next day.
“It’s been an incredible journey and it’s a tremendous honor to have gotten this far in the process,” Burns said. “I look forward to the City Council approving the referral.”
There are a variety of changes Burns said he would like to make to the Police Department, two of which are improving community relations and heightening the presence of community policing throughout the department.
Burns said he would hold a team-building offsite workshop to identify the department’s strengths and weaknesses and chart a course for the next several years with the help of facilitators.
Burns has been with the Palo Alto Police Department since 1982, rising through the ranks of agent, sergeant, lieutenant, captain, and assistant chief.
He has worked all patrol shifts and has served as a field training officer, detective, detective supervisor and crime prevention officer, according to the city.
Burns took over as interim chief on Dec. 19. The city hired an executive search firm to recruit a new police chief, and Burns was chosen over nearly 50 candidates from across the country, including seven who were called in for interviews and three local finalists.
Burns said he considered applying for the position of police chief once it became vacant.
“I thought we needed to maintain a continuity of operations and leadership,” he said.
While Burns said he is hopeful that the City Council will approve his appointment, he added, “I’m not certain of anything.”
Burns said he keeps in regular contact with Johnson, who retired late last year after she made remarks at a community meeting that critics said implied she condoned racial profiling.
Although Johnson retracted the Oct. 30 comments, saying she misspoke and offering numerous public apologies, the criticism continued and she stepped down in December.
Burns said, “She’s a dear friend and a committed professional and served the city for 33 years.”
Keene said, “I’m proud to be able to recommend the appointment of Dennis Burns as Palo Alto’s next police chief and think he’s the person who can bring the types of change we want to see in the Palo Alto Police Department.”
He said, “We want to insure that Palo Alto becomes known as a leader in unbiased policing.”
Burns earned a bachelor’s degree in administration of justice from San Jose State University in 1981 and a master’s degree in public administration from the University of San Francisco. He has attended the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Va.