Davis had apparently planned this for awhile, since the day he took office actually. It did not come as a surprise. At the end of October, he will have spent 30 years with the department. He started as an officer and will leave as police chief. With 30 years nder his belt, he will be entitled to a pension worth 90 percent of his salary. This year, that amounts to about $215,000.
Davis was sworn into office in January of 2004 touted as progressive and technology-minded.
"The day I got sworn in, in my speech, I said we've got to move this department into the next century and get technology on board and get it used," he said.
Under Chief Davis, neighborhood crime data became available online and the department is now the first in the country where officers have deployed mini video field cameras. But, there has also been controversy including two high-profile officer-involved shootings in the Vietnamese community and charges of excessive force and racial profiling from other minorities.
"It doesn't matter what you write in a press release. It doesn't matter how many ethnic banquets you go to. Your actions of your police force is a reflection on you," said Raj Jayadev with Silicon Valley Debug.
For seven years straight, the police department has had to cut its budget while fighting crime in a city that is adding 15,000 to 20,000 residents a year. For overcoming that and other challenges, San Jose's mayor issued a statement Monday saying in part, "Despite having to continually do more with less, his leadership has ensured that our police department remains one of the finest departments in the country."
Chief Rob Davis's retirement is effective at the end of October and he says his immediate plans focus on his family.
"So yeah, I'm looking forward to being able to spend a little time with that. With an 11-year-old and a 5-year-old, I'm really in a nice position as a father to be able to have that quality time with the kids, as an adult parent if you will," he said.
The city council has abouit three months to find a replacement and the process will begin immediately. Community groups are already saying that they are going to be holding forums because they want to make sure they have a voice in the process of finding a new police chief for San Jose.
