San Diego's Next Police Chief Once Led Agency's Homeless Efforts

By Lisa Halverstadt, the Voice of San Diego

March 28, 2024

Mayor Todd Gloria has chosen a San Diego native who helped create the police division focused on homelessness as the city’s next top cop.

Gloria announced Thursday that he will appoint Assistant Chief Scott Wahl, who now oversees special projects and legislative affairs, to replace current Chief David Nisleit when he retires in June.

Wahl, a 25-year veteran of the San Diego Police Department whose father also served on the force, helped launch the agency’s Neighborhood Policing Division in 2018 under former Mayor Kevin Faulconer.

Faulconer and Wahl created the division in the aftermath of a hepatitis A crisis that led the city to ramp up enforcement of crimes tied to homelessness to clear sidewalks in East Village, the area considered the epicenter of the deadly outbreak.

At the time, Wahl said he recognized the need to bolster the department’s response to surging neighborhood complaints about homelessness and quality-of-life and to standardize its approach to enforcement affecting homeless residents.

“It’s about being proactive on crime-prevention techniques and strategies,” Wahl told the Union-Tribune in March 2018. “We’re going to have teams that will be proactive in addressing community concerns and issues.”

For the next few years, Wahl was a fixture in community meetings and local discussions about homelessness.

On Wahl’s watch, the department formally instituted what it dubbed its progressive enforcement approach to crimes tied to homelessness. The model calls for offers of shelter and other services before tickets or arrests. The model was a core tenet of Faulconer’s homelessness policy – and endured after Gloria took office in late 2020.

In 2021, Wahl moved onto serve as captain of the department’s Northern Division which includes Pacific Beach, La Jolla and Clairemont. In that post, Gloria’s office said he “worked collaboratively with community groups to reduce gun violence and residential burglaries.”

More recently, Wahl has served as an assistant chief overseeing the department’s implementation of a slew of federal, state and local policy changes.

Wahl’s appointment follows a nationwide search that Gloria’s office said drew 56 applicants.

Gloria said at a Thursday press conference he selected Wahl in part because he knows he’s “ready to lead our department on day one.”

“Assistant Chief Wahl’s unwavering and unyielding commitment to safety and wellbeing of the people of San Diego has been demonstrated over his 25 years with the department and I know he will continue that work as our chief of police,” Gloria said. “Further, Assistant Chief Wahl shares my commitment to ensuring our police department reflects the needs and expectations of our communities today.”

Wahl struck a similar tone.

“My vision is to build an inclusive organization that is reflective of the city we serve,” Wahl said. “I believe firmly in hiring from right here in our own backyard from people who have a vested interest in our city and building an org that is worthy of your trust and collaboration and that’s why out of my top three priorities, establishing trust is priority one.”

At a Thursday morning press conference, Wahl spoke about the significant turnover the department will see the next couple years. He said his two other major priorities will be investing in workforce development to prepare for those departures and to reorganize and streamline the agency to match today’s realities.

Wahl told reporters the department is “holding on to a decades-old organizational structure and it has served us well over the years, but it has run its course.”

Before Wahl can take the helm, Gloria must present his proposed appointment to the City Council, which will then hold a hearing. After that hearing, the City Council can schedule a vote on the appointment.

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