Sacramento could soon have its first African American police chief. Daniel Hahn, chief of Roseville's Police Department, has accepted the conditional offer made by Sacramento City Manager Howard Chan.
It's been six years since Hahn left the Sacramento Police Department and took the head job in Roseville.
"My reason for putting in or being interested in going back is pretty simple," says Hahn. "Sacramento, I consider, is my town. I was born and raised there and continue to live there. I've lived there my entire life."
Hahn grew up in Oak Park and attended Sacramento High and Sacramento State. He started his career as a Sac PD community service officer at the age of 19 and stayed with the department for 23 years.
After he left for the Roseville job, the image of the Sacramento Police Department took several hits: first the arrests of homeless people at City Hall, then the shooting death of Joseph Mann on Del Paso Boulevard, and most recently the videotaped beating of a pedestrian.
Hahn says the way officers relate to the people they serve was discussed during the interviews for the Sacramento job.
"Something that I'm very passionate about is engaging the community," Hahn says, "because I don't think you can have a strong city and strong neighborhoods without neighborhoods that are engaged and feel valued by their city in general."
Hahn must first pass a background check before he is officially offered the position. That could take place in four-to-six weeks.
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