There's a new sheriff in town! Well actually… it's a new chief. 23ABC sat down with new McFarland police chief Adrian Olmos, talking about what he's wanting to bring to the community.
"I feel a sense of responsibility to this community,” said Chief Olmos. “I feel that I owe it to them for them to feel safe and secure where they live.”
Adrian Olmos has worked in law enforcement for the past 26 years. Starting out at the Kern County Sheriff's Office and later making his way to McFarland.
Driving around town, Chief Olmos tells me this is where he learned to be a cop — now leading the city, he calls it an honor.
He takes over for Brian Knox, and after being sworn in on Wednesday, Chief Olmos says his to-do list is already filling up.
"One of my priorities is, I want to get those unsolved homicides solved, at least do what I can with them,” said Chief Olmos. “Here in the past year, we've promoted two corporals to detectives and we have a full time investigative team now who constantly — as a matter of fact there's one here now working on an unsolved homicide case."
Since this implementation, Chief Olmos says they've been able to get some strong leads on cases.
But aside from that, the chief also wants to create more transparency between officers and the community.
"We hold our officers to the highest of standards,” said Chief Olmos. “So, I've implemented not only audits but accountability audits, we've implemented body worn cameras as well."
And through all of these goals, Chief Olmos says continuing to build stronger bonds with the community is how he plans to achieve them.
"I do want to make myself even more presentable to the community through town hall meetings, through community connections things like that,” said Chief Olmos. “Coffee with a cop, ice cream with a cop, just engaging with the community and listening to their concerns."
As part of his commitment to open communication, Chief Olmos encourages community members to contact the station or email him directly.
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