Former Los Gatos Police Chief Was Pushed Out Of Job: Police Union

LOS GATOS, CA — Former Los Gatos Police Chief Peter Decena resigned earlier this month after being told that he was going to be fired by the town manager, according to the president of the town’s police union.

The decision was initially reported by San Jose Spotlight on Monday.

Decena, who announced his resignation in a news release Sept. 3, was initially fired during a meeting with town officials, but later in the conversation was allowed to resign, Bryan Paul, the president of the Los Gatos Police Officers Association, told Patch last week.

The news release announcing Decena’s resignation didn’t include a reason. It stated that his last day would be Sept. 16, but Decena had left the department by Sept. 8.

Town Manager Laurel Prevetti told Patch last week that Decena "voluntarily resigned" and declined to comment further on a "personnel matter."

Decena’s resignation came amid controversy over a shortage of 911 dispatchers in Los Gatos. The town currently has four full-time dispatchers for its 24-hour emergency dispatch center to serve more than 30,000 residents, though it has the budget for eight. The remaining dispatchers are burned out and working regular overtime, according to Paul, who described the situation as a “public health crisis.”

Related: Los Gatos 'Public Health Crisis': Police Face Dispatcher Shortage

Decena, who was chief since 2018, declined an interview with Patch earlier this month when asked about his resignation and the dispatcher situation, writing in a statement: “I will steal a line from General Norman Schwarzkopf Jr. and say that I try to take every opportunity to avoid making comments regarding matters for which I am no longer responsible.”

But Decena told Paul to inform the media that he resigned “in lieu of being fired by the town manager,” according to San Jose Spotlight.

Los Gatos Mayor Marico Sayoc and interim Police Chief Clint Tada did not respond to requests for comment. Patch reached out to Decena to comment on Paul’s interpretation of events.

Paul declined to comment on whether the rank-and-file members of the police department had confidence in Decena, saying only that “this is a complex issue” and that the dispatcher “crisis needs to be addressed at all levels.”

“We’re in a crisis, so the department is not doing well, and he got fired,” Paul said. “So what does that tell you?”

Click here to read more on the dispatcher shortage in Los Gatos.