Newport deputy chief gets top police job in Sedona, Ariz.
Deputy Chief David McGill will leave his post in Newport Beach’s Police Department next year to take the reins of the Sedona Police Department in Arizona.
McGill, who has been second in command of the Newport Beach department since 2012, last week accepted a job as chief of police in Sedona, a town of roughly 10,100 residents about a 30-mile drive south of Flagstaff.
McGill is expected to start there in January. He and his wife, Kim, bought a home in Arizona about four years ago with the intention of eventually moving there.
The 54-year-old has spent nearly his entire life as a Newport Beach resident. He moved to Balboa Island as a child and fell in love with always being a few steps from the beach. He raised his three now-grown children in Newport and currently lives there with his wife, Kim.
“I’m a beach guy,” he said. “I have salt water in my veins and I’ll never get that out. But this is a new chapter for us. We’re excited for the change.”
Earlier this year, McGill competed against dozens of other applicants for the top job in the Newport Beach police force after then-Chief Jay Johnson announced his retirement. In March, Jon Lewis, another deputy chief and a 25-year department veteran, was tapped for the position.
McGill said he was disappointed but told Lewis he would support him during the transition.
“There are no sour grapes between us,” McGill said. “I can’t say enough good things about him. He got the nod and it’s his turn. Now it’s my turn to command somewhere else. It just worked out.”
Mayor Diane Dixon said she has enjoyed partnering with McGill on policing issues on the Balboa Peninsula, where he lived for years, and is sad to see him leave.
“We will miss him,” she said. “Dave and ... Kim are great supporters of the community. Sedona is lucky to have them both.”
McGill won the top job in Sedona over candidates from across the country. The recruitment process, which took several months, consisted of multiple telephone and in-person panel interviews and exams.
He started his law enforcement career at the Los Angeles Police Department in 1987 after graduating from UC Irvine with a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences. He steadily climbed the ranks during his 25-year stint with the LAPD, taking assignments in the detective division, internal affairs, the fiscal and support bureau and the anti-terrorism division.
In 2000, McGill earned a master’s degree in public administration from Cal State Long Beach. At the time, he said, he had every intention of working in Los Angeles the rest of his career.
But he jumped at the chance to help police his hometown when he saw an opening for one of the two deputy chief positions in Newport Beach. He was hired in 2012 as deputy chief overseeing the patrol and traffic division.
Most recently, McGill has been in charge of the detective division. He’s also president of the California Peace Officers’ Assn. and a member of Speak Up Newport, the Freedom Ride project and the Newport Harbor High School mentorship program.
Twitter: @HannahFryTCN
