New Police Chief Named In Fairfield

FAIRFILED, CA — The Fairfield Police Department on Thursday announced City Manager Stefan Chatwin has selected Deanna Cantrell as the department's new police chief.

Cantrell served the city of Mesa, Arizona for 21 years and served as chief of police in San Luis Obispo since January 2016.

Cantrell holds a bachelor's degree in education and a master's degree in administration from Northern Arizona University.

She is also a graduate of Northwestern University Police Staff and Command School and the International Association of Chief of Police Leadership in Policing Organizations Training.

"As I began my recruiting efforts several months ago, I felt she would be a top pick for our organization," Fairfield Chief of Police Walt Tibbet said. "Chief Cantrell’s love of 'community' is exceptional and will fit Fairfield well.

"The plan moving forward is for Chief Cantrell to join you in October," he said.

Cantrell has a history of community engagement and participation, he noted. While in Mesa, she chaired the Diversity Team, serving on the NAACP Legal Redress Committee, the Muslim Police Advisory Board and as the chair of the Human Rights Forum in Mesa. And in San Luis Obispo, she started the Police And Community Together committee, which was awarded the Anti-Defamation League Sherwood Prize in March 2019 for combatting hate, Tibbet said.

"Chief Cantrell and her partner, Kristi, are excited to move into this next chapter of their lives and become part of the Fairfield PD family," he added. "They are eager to learn the culture and become members of our community."

Previously police chief from 2010 to 2015, Tibbet was brought from retirement to serve as interim chief following the retirement of Randy Fenn and while the city performed a national search for a successor.

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