Beverly Hills Names New Chief of Police

Beverly Hills has named a new police chief and she’s coming from Northern California.

San Leandro’s police Chief Sandra Spagnoli will take over for Interim Police Chief Dominick Rivetti, who has been managing the department since last June.

Chief David Snowden of the Beverly Hills Police Department announced his retirement last June.

Before joining San Leandro’s department in 2011, Spagnoli was police chief in Benicia and previously worked for 16 years with the San Carlos Police Department.

“I am looking forward to becoming part of the City of Beverly Hills team and building on the legacy of excellence in City services and safety,” Spagnoli said. “The community and police department have an outstanding reputation and it is an honor to be selected as the next police chief in Beverly Hills.”

Spagnoli could find herself with a much lighter workload at her new assignment. While San Leandro has a population of about 88,000 residents, Beverly Hills has less than half that at fewer than 35,000.

--Bay City News Service contributed to this report, photo courtesy of the city of Beverly Hills