Nationwide — Darren Goodman has been appointed as Police Chief in the city of San Bernardino in California, becoming the first African American to lead the San Bernardino Police Department in its 116-year history.
Before becoming chief in Upland, he had been with the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department for 27 years. He is also an adjunct professor at Cal State San Bernardino.
Now, Goodman is set to assume his post in San Bernardino on June 1, where he will lead the department with 262 sworn officers and 150 civilian staff.
Goodman’s first step as a chief of police in San Bernardino is to connect the police department with the community by paying attention to their concerns.
“You have to be able to hear people in order to build bridges,” he told Black Voice News. “My goal is to listen to my officers, to hear their perspectives regarding what they believe we need to do to better serve the needs of the community.”
He said he will also reach out to community leaders and different community groups to “find out how they feel about the service they are receiving from the police department, as well as how safe they feel or don’t feel in their respective communities.”