Behind the Badge
Before getting into the role of the Fullerton Police Department’s interim chief, David Hinig, let’s first state one absolute truth — a truth made clear by Hinig himself at the department’s monthly crime strategy meeting recently.
“I’m not a placeholder,” said Hinig, 70, addressing captains, lieutenants, sergeants, officers and other members of the FPD team.
In other words, Hinig, who has spent 50 years in law enforcement, won’t simply be filling a slot for six months until a full-time chief is hired.
Hinig was hired Nov. 29, taking over from Chief Dan Hughes, who retired Nov. 11 after 33 years with the FPD, the last three as chief.
Says David Hinig: “I’m not a placeholder.” Photo by Miguel Vasconcellos
Similarly, Hinig spent his first 40 years in law enforcement with the Arcadia Police Department.
“I have a certain kinship with (Hughes) because when I did my career in Arcadia, I started as a cadet, came up through the ranks and did six years as chief,” Hinig said.
Hinig, who will likely be interim chief for about six months, plans to perform an assessment of FPD as one of his first undertakings.
“I’m looking for the input from the agency because we are trying to identify what we are doing right and the things we do best,” Hinig said. “How does the agency look in relation to the professional standards which are expected? What areas can we improve? Because, when you do an honest assessment, everybody can improve.”
Hinig said Hughes “transformed the department,” and plans to maintain many of the programs initiated by the retired chief, such as the Chief’s Advisory Committee and the Homeless Liaison Officer Program.
Photo by Miguel Vasconcellos
He’ll also be closely involved with hiring new officers and filling vacancies due to anticipated retirements.
“The (hiring) process is one of the most critical things you do,” Hinig said. “You don’t want to just hire someone to fill a vacancy. You want to find somebody who is an appropriate fit for the community, who is going to give you longevity, a level of dedication and has clear-cut capacity to be the professional you want in the agency. You don’t want to compromise that.”
Hinig retired from the Arcadia PD in 2005 and went on to serve as interim police chief in Sierra Madre, La Habra — where he was interim chief twice — and Palos Verdes Estates.
When not guiding departments through transitional periods between chiefs, Hinig works as a senior law enforcement consultant for Kelly Associates Management Group in Fullerton and provides expert witness testimony on police procedures and management to law firms that represent public agencies.
“Interim Chief Hinig is a very experienced and well-respected law enforcement professional,” Fullerton Mayor Jennifer Fitzgerald said. “I am confident in his ability to lead our police department during this important transition.”
When entering Pasadena City College as a young man, Hinig wasn’t considering law enforcement as a career.
He studied chemical engineering and fully intended to become an engineer.
But along the way, the prospect of being cooped up indoors wasn’t very appealing — not to mention all the math.
So Hinig pursued law enforcement as another option.
“It actually refreshes me to come back and do these kinds of things,” Hinig said of his new position. “This is a profession that many people call a calling. Others say it’s in your blood. To me, the rewards when I leave are a successful transition that the agency can comfortability look back on and and say we are better off him having been here. If I can get that kind of response, then I’ve done it right.”
