BY BRADEN CARTWRIGHT
Daily Post Staff Writer
Police Chief James Reifschneider has officially taken the reins of the Palo Alto Police Department — the culmination of 21 years as an officer and a childhood dream to be a cop.
“I like the idea of being the good guy,” Reifschneider said in an interview yesterday.
Reifschneider, 46, went to UC Law San Francisco to become an FBI agent but decided the federal work wasn’t for him. So he spent a year litigating patent cases at a Menlo Park law firm before becoming a Palo Alto police officer in 2005.
Reifschneider said the highlight of his career has been working as a detective. He said Palo Alto doesn’t have a lot of violent crimes, so it’s all hands on deck when something big happens.
Shortly after becoming a detective, Reifschneider worked on the homicide of Jennifer Schipsi, a 29-year-old real estate agent who was burned to death in a cottage on Addison Avenue.
Reifschneider testified against Schipsi’s boyfriend, hookah shop owner Bulos Zumot, who was convicted of murder and sentenced to 33 years in prison.
Reifschneider said he deals with the demands of the job by having friends who aren’t police officers and allow him to talk about something other than police work.
At the end of the day, Reifschneider said he tries to think about a moment when he helped someone, even if it’s something mundane like pulling up behind a driver who ran out of gas. He’s encouraged his fellow police officers to also reflect on a good deed.
“If you can frame your day that way, it makes it a lot easier not to dwell on the unfortunate parts of the job,” he said.
Reifschneider said he was inspired by former Chief Dennis Burns, who led the department from 2008 to 2016.
Reifschneider is the first chief since Burns to spend his entire career in Palo Alto.
Reifschneider also has a strong relationship with former Chief Andrew Binder, who retired on March 31 after being on medical leave with a back injury.
Binder led Reifschneider’s trainings at the police academy when Binder worked for the San Jose Police Department. Twenty years later, they worked together to update the Palo Alto Police Department’s policies when residents were calling for police reforms in 2020 and 2021.
Reifschneider said the profession of policing deserved some criticism, and the department had room for improvement.
“But do I think that Palo Alto PD was doing a really good job? Yes I do,” he said.
Reifschneider said the department has more young officers than in the past because longtime officers have retired in the last five years.
Younger police officers have been an asset because they only know modern policing expectations.
“It’s energized the place,” he said.
Reifschneider said he is hoping to hire more officers so the department can increase traffic enforcement and have more detectives. Once vacancies are filled, he’s planning to ask council for more positions.
Officers and dispatchers will move to the department’s new headquarters by California Avenue early this summer, Reifschneider said.
Reifschneider said he doesn’t plan to change the department’s approach to homelessness or RVs, which starts with education before enforcement.
Reifschneider hasn’t made any decisions about new department leadership nor who will take his old job as assistant chief.
The department has two captains — April Wagner and Zach Perron — and five lieutenants: Ben Becchetti, Nicolas Martinez, Craig Lee, David Lee and Kara Apple.
Agent Chris Correia, president of the Police Officers’ Association, said the union endorses Reifschneider as chief.
“He’s one of the sharpest, most thoughtful leaders I’ve ever worked with,” Correia told council on Monday.
Council also praised Reifschneider before appointing him with a $363,584 salary.
“Your responsiveness, your judgement and your professionalism will serve the city well,” Mayor Vicki Veenker said.
Reifschneider will oversee 141 employees, including 86 sworn officers, and a $58 million budget.
“We today have the most professional, high-performing department that I have known in my 30 years of public service,” Councilman Pat Burt said.
“We today have the most professional, high-performing department that I have known in my 30 years of public service,” Councilman Pat Burt said.
It’s unfortunate that other city departments don’t operate the same way—there seems to be a lot of internal conflict, infighting, and unprofessional behavior, especially within HR during the hiring process. The situation at PAUSD only adds to the frustration.