The Lathrop Police Department’s senior command staff is now officially in place.

And starting next week, Lathrop residents will get a chance to not only meet Lathrop Police  Chief Raymond Bechler, but also his two new Commanders – former San Jose Police Sergeant Kyle Oki and former Foster City Administrative Sergeant Stephen Sealy.

On Monday, Feb. 28, River Islands residents will host the first of four events taking place across the community where the three senior officials of the new department will be on hand to meet the public and answer questions that the community may have about their experience, their philosophies, or the vision they have for the upstart department.

The event in River Islands will take place at the River Islands Welcome Center – located at 1401 River Islands Parkway – from 6 to 7 p.m. The same event will be held on Wednesday, March 2 at the Lathrop Generations Center – located at 450 Spartan Way – from 6 to 7 p.m.

The following week the three will be on hand for an hour prior to the March meeting of the Lathrop City Council – which takes place inside of City Hall, located at 390 Towne Centre Drive, at 7 p.m. On Thursday, March 10, the fourth and final meet-and-greet will take place at the Lathrop Senior Center – located 15707 5th Street – from 6 to 7 p.m.

While Bechler – who previously served as a Lieutenant in the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office prior to being hired to head Lathrop’s upstart department – was hired by the Lathrop City Council back in September, the arrival of Sealy and Oki round out the senior administrative staff of the new department.

The next group of hires are expected to be the department’s sergeants – who were assessed in early December and are currently going through the background check process. Tasked with overseeing the day-to-day law enforcement operations of police officers, the six positions, once filled, will play a role in the selection of officers that will be the first to ever wear the City of Lathrop’s badge.

While some minor modifications to the building were undertaken recently, the new officers will be the first to ever use the City of Lathrop’s new police department – located just across the Bradshaw’s Crossing Bridge in River Islands – which will be fully operational on July 1.

Until the formal transition takes place, the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office will continue providing contract police services to the City of Lathrop. That contract runs through the end of July, and the city plans on having all officers in place prior to the conclusion of that contract so that they can assume law enforcement responsibility as soon as the situation dictates. 

To contact reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.