Westminster : Donald Saviers Named City’s New Police Chief

Donald Saviers, a 26-year veteran of the Police Department, has been named chief by a unanimous City Council, replacing Jack L. Shockley, who is retiring today.

Saviers, 48, began his career with the police force on Aug. 1, 1959, as a patrolman and since then has served in all the department’s bureaus and divisions.

A resident of neighboring Midway City, Saviers is president of the Westminster Kiwanis Club, committee chairman of Police Explorer Post 810 and is active in the California Peace Officers Assn., scouting programs and the International Assn. of Chiefs of Police.

“This is the culmination of what I started out to do,” the new chief said Thursday. “I told everyone I wanted to be a police chief when I was still a junior in high school.”

Saviers, whose most recent assignment was captain, detective commander, competed with two other officers to head the 117-employee department, which has 83 sworn officers. His greatest challenge will be to continue the level of police service residents and businesses have become accustomed to with a limited budget, he said.

He also noted that Westminster is a rapidly changing community with one of the fastestgrowing Southeast Asian populations in the country. His goal is to welcome new residents and businesses into the city’s social fabric “and make sure the assimilation process continues,” he said.

Born and reared in Orange County, Saviers is a graduate of Anaheim Union High School. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from National University in San Diego and also graduated with the 126th session of the FBI’s National Academy.

After high school, he completed a four-year stint in the Air Force, much of which was served in North Africa.

Saviers and his wife, Kathleen, have two grown children.