It’s official:Costa Mesa has a police chief

The swearing in of Christopher Shawkey as Costa Mesa’s new chief of police Tuesday afternoon had all the trappings of ceremony — a color guard marching in with state and U.S. flags, a solemn oath to defend the Constitution, and approving speeches from City Manager Alan Roeder and Mayor Alan Mansoor.

But the event in the City Hall council chambers had something unexpected as well: naked, unguarded emotion. Both Shawkey and outgoing Interim Police Chief Steve Staveley seemed overcome with feeling as they spoke to a crowd celebrating the end of six months without a permanent police chief.

Shawkey told an audience made up of police, government officials, and friends and family from his home of 26 years, Phoenix, how he began his law enforcement career.

“Phoenix was the first city to offer me a job, so I went there,” he said. “I had nowhere to live, no car and $100 in my pocket. But I had a spot in the Police Academy.”

It’s a sign of how much he loves police work, he said, calling law enforcement a job that “I still can’t believe I get paid to do.”

He seemed on the verge of tears when he turned from work to family, introducing his wife Pamela and his five children, who flew to Costa Mesa to see him take his oath even as Pamela’s father lies critically ill in Phoenix.

Staveley choked up as well when he gave what he called a “state of the department” speech. He seemed overwhelmed with pride in the department, as he said it has high morale, is fully staffed and had a 100% rate of solving homicides in the last year.

“This is the pinnacle of police organizations in this state,” he said. “These six months have felt like six years — in a good way. It’s been an amazing capstone for my career.”

Shawkey, 47, was most recently commander of the Phoenix police department’s airport bureau. He had been with the department since 1981.

Shawkey was named chief by the city in November, beating out 43 other candidates in a nationwide search to replace Chief John Hensley, who retired in June.

Staveley, formerly police chief in La Habra, has been serving as Costa Mesa’s interim chief during the search.

Hensley’s retirement came at a time of upheaval for the department. It was short on staff, and a debate was raging on the city’s decision to train police officers to enforce federal immigration laws.

When he retired, Hensley said he was leaving because he could not move the department forward any longer.

Shawkey is not facing the strong debate on immigration enforcement that Hensley did. The compromise solution — a federal Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agent working in Costa Mesa jail — has been in place for about a month.

“The controversy is over,” Shawkey told reporters after being sworn in. “That’s a partnership [between ICE and the police] I hope will continue, and we’ll see how it’s working as the year goes on.”

The department has been in good hands, and Shawkey doesn’t intend to make any major changes before he gets a deeper understanding of the department and the community, he said.

“We’re going to focus on gangs, drugs and repeat offenders,” he said. “I intend to keep our success going.”