Officials and well-wishers gathered Tuesday as Dan Watson was sworn in as the new Chief of Police for Mammoth Lakes. Watson had served as the Chief of Police in South Pasadena for eight years before taking over in Mammoth Lakes as the interim chief.

 

Town Manager Rob Clark mentioned that Chief Watson had actually started the job on Monday, but he received his badge on Tuesday.

After taking the oath, Watson said he was looking forward to the opportunity to be the Chief of the Mammoth Lakes Police. Watson also had good words to say about the Community Emergency Response Team or CERT, which had been organized and brought to life by outgoing Lt. Jim Short.

The first order of business for Chief Watson will be to get to know people. Watson says that he has planned a staff meeting for Wednesday. He also plans to go to his first Town Council meeting Wednesday and to do the work to get up to speed on the budget.

Town officials have said that Chief Watson will be responsible for helping the Town evaluate its long-term needs including staffing levels, command structure, operating procedures, wildlife management and how to replace retiring members in the future.

In the meantime, Watson says hes excited for the new challenge and added that, Its great to be here.

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