Phoenix City Manager Ed Zuercher appointed Joe Yahner as the city’s permanent police chief Wednesday. Yahner is a Phoenix native who has been with the city’s police department for 30 years.
Yahner has been serving as acting police chief since December, after former chief Daniel Garcia was fired for insubordination.
While he does have plans to retire from the department in October of 2016, he said his tenure will allow city officials to take a more methodical approach to finding the next chief.
"That process can go slow with community input as well," said Yahner. "And then have a new chief in place prior to my retirement so there’s some transition period."
During his time in the position, Yahner plans to address five key priorities including improved community engagement, the roll out of a structured officer training program and increased hiring.
