Police Captain Promoted to Chief
Monterey Park Police Capt. Joseph Santoro has been named the next chief of the Monrovia Police Department.
Santoro, 46, will take over Oct. 30, when Chief William Tubbs retires. He will earn between $55,440 and $72,000. Officials refused to release the exact figure.
A 16-year veteran of the Monterey Park department and division commander since 1986, Santoro was named to the Monrovia post after a seven-month effort by an executive search firm, said Monrovia City Manager James Starbird.
Describing Santoro as “very progressive, very community-oriented,” Starbird cited the captain’s experience with gangs in ethnically diverse Monterey Park and his creation of an air surveillance program as factors in his selection over more than 40 candidates.
Santoro said the appointment is the highlight of his career. “Monrovia is a great police department, and I want to build on it,” he said. “It will be a different type of challenge for me.”
Monrovia has 33,900 residents and a police force of 77.
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