Former Cal State Fullerton operations captain, Carl Jones, retired three years ago with hopes of more free time. However, once he received a call from CSUF President Virjee last year, asking if he would consider coming back as an interim chief of police until a search committee could secure a permanent chief, he weighed his options.
Jones became chief of police once again, serving the Titan community since 1999. Before that, Jones served the United States Marine Corps for 20 years. However, after his year-long appointment as an interim passed, Jones said a new candidate will assume the chief of police position in mid-to-late October.
Jones said his first position at CSUF was a sergeant, where he assumed the duties of patrol shift supervisor. He said he was on the front line of defense to crimes or incidents that strayed from good order and discipline on campus.
He also became a member of the CSU Critical Response Unit as a lead instructor for defense tactics, impact weapons, tactical communications and crowd management, according to the university police website.
“One of the things I’ve always practiced and I’ve always preached is our approach to policing whether it’s on a traffic stop or just walking through the quads on campus, meeting and greeting people or ultimately if there is a justification for a use of force there has to be a humanistic approach to doing that,” Jones said. “In other words, under those same or similar circumstances, treat people the way you would like to be treated. Don’t go overboard with it.”
From July 2000 to November 2019, Jones became a part-time cadet counselor and tactical officer at the Rio Hondo Basic Police Academy.
CSUF PD Captain Willey said that when he first crossed paths with Jones at the police academy, he was intimidated. But, overtime Jones became a mentor to Capt. Willey throughout his career.
Lieutenant Robert Mullaney said that Jones has effectively taught him how to communicate regularly with his team, engage constituents and do his best to serve them.
Jones said he hopes to see more efforts in community engagement with student organizations after he retires, especially in his favorite outreach programs such as Breaking Barriers United and Game Changer.
According to the university website, Game Changer utilizes sports to create a solution-oriented and fun atmosphere for a focus group of community members, law enforcement, elected officials and members of the judicial system.
Transitioning into an official retiree mentality, Jones lit up at the thought of kicking back. “First and foremost, rest, relaxation and not to be concerned about when my phone rings, I got to jump up and go to work. I can actually kick back and chill. Travel will still be a challenge. It’s a mess.”
Out of the seven continents, Jones said he has traveled to six. He wants to revisit South America and Europe. As a nature-lover, he yearns to hike through Yellowstone National Park and Glacier National Park to catch the glimpses of wildlife. He and his wife own an recreational vehicle and plan on camping in the near future.
Reminiscing on over two decades of dedicating his life to the CSUF PD and to the country, Jones said it has been an honor filling once again the chief of police position even though he never aspired to be a chief.
“Usually when a command-level person leaves a department it’s like, ‘nice knowing you, good-ridden, you’re leaving, opens a door for my elevation to another position.’ But for people to reach back and ask you if you’d consider coming back, that’s special,” Jones said. “That’s indeed the pinnacle of the reason why it was an easy decision for me to come back.”
Lt. Mullaney says that the qualities he would like to see in the next chief are vision, tact, commitment, strength and empathy.
Ten potential candidates for the chief of police position recently underwent the interviewing process conducted by Capt. Willey and the CSUF police chief’s search committee he represents, Willey said. The committee selected four candidates that will be brought to an open forum to engage with the police department and students from Oct. 3-6 on campus.
The qualifications for chief of police include five to six years of management in policing and a preference for a master’s degree or a doctorate, Willey said.
Capt. Willey echoed Tonantzin Oseguera, the vice president of student affairs, that the committee is seeking a candidate that embraces reform and has the ambition to create “innovative ways to look at policing.”
“We hope to carry on his story that he’s left here. I’ve only got about two and a half years myself before I retire and I want to make sure that it’s left in good hands,” Willey said. “We care a lot about this department. We care a lot about our community and having the right person to steer the ship is really important.”
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