Tempe names Interim Police Chief, conducts national search for permanent Chief

An Interim Chief has been named for the Tempe Police Department and applications are now being taken for the permanent role of Police Chief.

Interim Assistant Chief Josie Montenegro will serve as Interim Chief after current Police Chief Jeff Glover serves his last day Feb. 13 and becomes Arizona Department of Public Safety Director under the administration of Governor Katie Hobbs.

City Manager Andrew Ching expressed the utmost confidence in Montenegro, a 22-year Tempe Police employee who has been serving as an Assistant Chief for more than a year. She will serve as Interim Police Chief from Feb. 14 until a permanent Police Chief is chosen and begins work in Tempe.

Montenegro has a Bachelor’s degree in Criminology from the University of Oklahoma, where she played soccer, and a Master’s degree in Organizational Leadership from Northern Arizona University. She attended the Los Angeles Police Department West Point Leadership Academy and the Northwestern University School of Police Staff & Command. She has worked her way up in Tempe in various assignments from Patrol Officer to Commander prior to being named an Interim Assistant Chief.

“We place a high value on public safety in Tempe and I know that Asst. Chief Montenegro will continue the tradition of leadership and service in the role of Interim Chief,” he said. “I am grateful to her for stepping up to serve in this capacity at my request.”

According to the Tempe City Charter, it is the City Manager who has ultimate hiring authority for city employees, including hiring and management of the role of Police Chief. The City Council, according to the Charter, has no authority in hiring and management decisions, except for the appointed employee roles of City Manager, City Attorney, City Clerk and Presiding Judge. 

Ching has outlined a process for the search. Tempe is conducting a national search; the job has been posted this week and a first review of applications will occur starting Feb. 20. Police employees and community members will be able to meet and ask questions of the candidates at forums in March.