Dana Point Welcomes New Chief of Police

Effective August 30th, Dana Point has a new Chief of Police, Lt. Kirsten Monteleone. “She comes with some great experience, including as a Dana Point Deputy and Administrative Deputy” said Dana Point City Manager Mark Denny. Monteleone spent twenty four combined years, first with the Orange County Marshall and then the Orange County Sheriff Department, after the merger of the two forces. Her experience in Field Training Bureau and S.A.F.E. (Strategy, Accountability, Focus and Evaluation) Division was of particular interest to Denny in considering the pool of qualified candidates vying for the position. “This stood out to me as good training for future Chief of Police Services.” During the interview process, Monteleone told the Denny that she has wanted to be a city police chief from the time she was a young child.

Current Dana Point Chief of Police Lt. Margie Sheehan is moving on and up after serving a little over one year as Dana Point’s Police Chief. Her new position as the Executive Aid to the Sheriff puts her in line to eventual promotion from Lt. to Captain. Monteleone will “shadow” Lt. Sheehan for the next two weeks and then officially take the reins on August 30th.

Since Lt. Sheehan took over from former Chief of Police Russell Chilton, Dana Point has emphasized moving toward the culture of community based policing. Monteleone expressed her enthusiasm for the challenge by sharing her personal experience with the police as a young person. Her parents’ house had been robbed. After suffering the emotional strains of an invasion into her home and personal safety, Monteleone related the detached and impersonal treatment they received at the hands of the police. It left a lifelong impression of how the deputies' rudeness and lack of caring exacerbated the family’s already trauma incident.

“I am very excited to meet with Lt. Monteleone and hear her plan for implementing community based policing in Dana Point. This is something I have expressed to Denny as a priority for me as well, first when Lt. Sheehan was hired and now with Lt. Monteleone” said City Council women Debra Lewis.

Monteleone holds a Master of Science degree in Emergency Services Management from California State University, Long Beach and a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from California State University, Fullerton. She is passionate about Dana Point and excited to “fill some big shoes” in Denny’s words. “We are very proud to be able to attract quality leaders from the Sheriff’s Department like St. Sheehan and Lt. Monteleone” said Denny.