Michael Carroll, former Alameda Sheriff’s Department captain, assumed his role as San Jose State’s new UPD chief Tuesday after weeks of being the university’s top candidate.
“I have created a reputation for being an inclusive, transparent, innovative leader. Over the past several years, I have created various programs and opportunities designed to bridge the gap between law enforcement and the community,” said Carroll, who worked with Alameda’s department for more than 26 years, in a Jan. 14 campuswide email.
Carroll said he’ll carry those attributes with him in his new position as he envisions a present, responsive and inclusive department built on “partnerships, integrity and professionalism.”
Charlie Faas, SJSU vice president for administration and finance, said Carroll’s work history, community action and approach to the hiring and recruitment committees made him a front runner in the search for a new chief from the start.
“We are thrilled that he is joining the SJSU team,” Faas said in an email. “He will be bringing a community-policing approach that is friendly, transparent and inclusive.”
Before Carroll assumed his role he met with the SJSU community in a hybrid open forum on Dec. 9, 2021 and subsequently the hiring and recruitment committees met with the university to debrief.
The UPD chief hiring and recruitment committees were composed of students, staff, faculty and administrative members.
SJSU community members were also able to submit feedback forms after the forum to the VP Administration and Finance website until Dec. 10, 2021.
Carroll retired on April 1 from his position in Alameda County, near Oakland, and was the only candidate under review by the committees.
Rus Drew, associate vice president and police chief for Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia and a potential finalist in SJSU’s UPD chief search, was removed from his Dec. 7, 2021 open forum with the campus community a day prior.
Faas said in a phone call that there was a “laundry list of things” as to why Drew was no longer a candidate but it had nothing to do with the university or the chief position.
During the Dec. 9 forum, Carroll discussed his successes in using community-based concepts in policing and said if he assumed the position, he’d implement similar programs and services in UPD.
“When we talk about community policing, it’s a collaboration. We have to learn from each other but we also have to be willing to listen to each other and we have to come at it at different angles,” Carroll said during the forum. “Everyone has to be at the table.”
He said one of his community service projects, with the help of two colleagues, included the Barbershop Forum that began in 2017 and consisted of events for the community to ask law enforcement questions and create solution-based conversations.
Forum panelists often included police department higher-ups, city officials and district attorney department members who’d explain their policies or address community concerns such as officer-involved shootings.
Carroll said UPD needs to be more inclusive and engaged with students, faculty and staff because the industry is struggling from the “bad rap” officers get on social media
“[Globally,] there’s been a large outcry for ‘Defund the Police.’ Do we really want to defund the police or are we looking to reimagine law enforcement?” he said. “We have to bring the community into law enforcement so that they can have a better understanding of what we do.”
Carroll also detailed his goals as UPD chief during the event.
He said he wants to challenge the SJSU community’s perception of its officers and those who have distrustful feelings and ask them to “come to the table.”
“They can meet with us, build a bond and we can explain what our position is on campus and what kind of services we do provide,” Carroll said.
Carroll said UPD must continually examine and implement its diversity, equity and inclusion through hiring and promotion opportunities, disciplinary processes and officer training, which will include cultural humility, de-escalation and other courses.
“We need to address our biases . . . whether it’s implicit bias, explicit or complicit, we have to address those issues. If we have to provide training then we provide training. If there’s a continuation of the negative behavior or once the behavior is identified . . . we can look at the disciplinary process,” he said during the forum. “We need to talk about racism and why it exists and how it impacts our community and how it impacts our profession.”
Faas said he and Carroll had many conversations about the chief position as an opportunity to demonstrate his values and how they align with the SJSU community’s needs.
He said as of Tuesday, Carroll is being mentored by UPD’s Interim Chief Ric Abeyta and will be spending time getting to know the UPD team.
“I’m not sure that I would call it mentoring,” Abeyta said in a phone call. “Michael Carroll, to be quite frank, needs very little mentoring. He has a great history of community service, which San Jose State and UPD could use a lot of . . . and a great deal of experience in law enforcement.”
Abeyta, former SJSU UPD chief from 1988-2004, returned to the role intermly on July 21, 2021 after former Chief Gina Di Napoli resigned on May 14 and the university launched a nationwide search for her replacement.
“I’m transitioning with [Carroll]. I’m being a resource for him during a brief transition period,” Abeyta said.
Faas said Carroll will also be setting up Zoom meetings with various campus groups in February and working on responses and action items from the Task Force on Safety and Community Policing.
The task force was created by former President Mary Papazian in July 2020 “as part of SJSU’s commitment to examine and begin to address systemic racism,” according to its webpage, and is composed of students, faculty and staff.
“I think Carroll is a good fit for UPD . . . a good fit for the university and I think he’s going to be a great leader for San Jose State,” Abeyta said.
