Desert Hot Springs hires new chief of police
The city of Desert Hot Springs has hired a new chief of police.
Officials said Police Chief Dale Mondary will begin working with Interim Chief of Police Jeff Kirkpatrick for a one week transition period before assuming the helm of the department on June, 29.
Chief Mondary is coming from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department where he serves as the commander of the Morongo Basin Station. In that role, he’s the chief of police for the town of Yucca Valley and the city of Twentynine Palms, according to a city release.
Chief-Select Mondary has worked with the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department for 24 years, where he moved through the ranks as a jail deputy, patrol deputy, detective, sergeant, and lieutenant before his current ranking.
Prior to being assigned to the Morongo Basin Sheriff’s Department, he was the commander over the county’s Court Services Division, which included all 14 county courthouses, the Civil Enforcement Division, and a staff of over 200 people.
He has also served as the executive officer at the Central Jail, the Morongo Station and the Bureau of Administration, where he helped with the department’s $550M budget, officials said in the release.
Chief Mondary grew up in Jasonville, Indiana. After graduating high school he joined the Army and served at Fort Riley, Kansas as a military police officer. He then worked for the Junction City Police Department for 10 years.
City officials said he has a Master’s Degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice and is a graduate of the 246th Session of the FBI National Academy.
Mondary has been actively involved in the Yucca Valley community as a 21-year resident. According to officials, he’s been a member of the Rotary Club, Footprints, Kiwanis, and the Yucca Valley High School Volleyball Booster Club. He’s also been a youth basketball and softball coach, as well as a volunteer umpire for the Tri-Valley Little League.
Mondary said that accepting the new position was a bittersweet decision.
“I love the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department and the opportunities they have given me, and working for John McMahon is the highlight of my career. I would have only left for the ideal opportunity and Desert Hot Springs provides me that opportunity,” Mondary said. “I can be a chief of police [and] be actively involved in my new community without having to uproot and relocate my family. I look forward to continuing to build the department in the direction that Chief Kirkpatrick and Chief Maynard started. They will be a great resource for me and I am excited about the direction that City Manager Martn Magaa and the City Council are taking the city,” he added.
Chief Mondary lives with his wife of 31 years, Danette. The couple has three children together.
