Pleasanton Police Chief David Swing Stepping Down

PLEASANTON, CA — Pleasanton Police Chief David Swing is stepping down to accept the position of executive director of the East Bay Regional Communications System Authority, the city announced Friday. He will leave Pleasanton in April, and begin leading EBRCSA in May, the city said.

EBRCSA is a Joint Powers Authority formed in 2007 that owns and operates a communications system for public agencies in Alameda and Contra Costa counties.

Swing served as police chief of the Morgan Hill Police Department before coming to Pleasanton in 2020. He has over 30 years of law enforcement and leadership experience, including a tenure as president of the California Police Chiefs Association, where he helped influence state legislation concerning law enforcement agencies.

In Pleasanton, Swing led many projects, including:

• The development and implementation of the Alternative Response Unit, which brings trained mental health clinicians during certain crisis situations.
• The development and implementation of a Five-Year Strategic Plan.
• The establishment of a department awards ceremony.
• The establishment of a Community Advisory Board to provide feedback on different policing practices and policies.

“Choosing to retire from a profession, city and department that has given me so much was a tremendously difficult decision,” Swing said in a statement. “Throughout my time in Pleasanton, I was continuously impressed by how the women and men of the police department cared for our community and each other. While I am looking forward to the new professional challenges ahead with EBRCSA and continuing to serve in a purpose-filled role, I will always look back fondly on how the department welcomed me during the onset of the pandemic and hope the relationships I’ve made last as long as the things we accomplished.

“Our community has benefited from Chief Swing’s leadership, expertise, and passion for public service and public safety,” Pleasanton City Manager Gerry Beaudin said in a statement. City spokesperson Heather Tiernan told Pleasanton Weekly that Beaudin will name an interim chief during a “robust recruitment process” for the next chief.