Former Southwest RivCo Police Chief Named County's Assistant Sheriff

On Oct. 26, 2015, Sheriff Stan Sniff announced the appointment of Chief Deputy Joe Cleary to Assistant Sheriff. Photo courtesy of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.

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By City News Service:

A 31-year law enforcement veteran was promoted to assistant sheriff, overseeing patrol operations throughout Riverside County, the department announced this week.

Chief Deputy Joseph Cleary, who has been with the sheriff’s department since 1984, will take over from Assistant Sheriff Lee Wagner, who is retiring after more than three decades on the force.

Cleary, 54, most recently supervised the sheriff’s Personnel and Recruiting Bureau, which has been involved in a hiring spree to fill departmental slots since 2012. The recruitment drive has since slowed down at the direction of the Board of Supervisors to contain public safety costs.

Cleary began as a correctional deputy in Indio, and in 1987 transferred to the Moreno Valley station. On Jan. 3, 1988, he stopped a vehicle on the Moreno Valley (60) Freeway, near Day Street, and the occupants -- Los Angeles gang members -- opened fire with .44 and .38-caliber handguns, striking Cleary in the stomach and wrist.

Sheriff’s officials said Cleary was able to return fire and summon help, culminating in the capture of the assailants, all of whom were tried and convicted of attempted murder of a peace officer. Cleary underwent an extended medical leave, but fully recovered from his wounds.

The longtime lawman became an investigator in 1990, attaining the rank of sergeant two years later, and the rank of lieutenant 11 years after that.

He worked in the corrections division, at the Jurupa Valley station and again at the Moreno Valley station before his promotion to captain in September 2008, when he was transferred to Lake Elsinore, serving as the city’s police chief for two years.

Cleary was promoted to chief deputy by Sheriff Stan Sniff in 2010.

The father of two holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees and is active in the Boy Scouts of America.