After four years at the helm of Lathrop Police Services, Police Chief Danelle Hohe is waving goodbye on her way into retirement.
The 28-year veteran of the San Joaquin County Sherriff’s Department had her farewell Monday night at Lathrop City Hall as the city council honored her for her four-years of service to the community and wished her well on the new journey she is embarking on.
Hohe, who said that she was looking forward to spending time with her family, got choked up a bit when making her public statement – exacerbated by a bouquet of yellow roses that were presented to her in addition to the framed certificate of recognition.
But she said she’ll always look favorably upon her time in Lathrop, and noted that it was a combination of an active city staff and a dedicated team of residents that made the last post in her long career a memorable one.
“A job like this is a 24-hour thing and there were really only two things that kept me up about it – one was an active shooter situation and the other was one of my officers being shot just because they were wearing a badge,” Hohe said. “Those sorts of things can make the job stressful, and when you have the all-day and all-night alerts because we’re part of the umbrella that is the Sheriff’s Department you’re constantly in that mindset.
“It’s just time for me to go enjoy time with my family. As much as I loved being here and working for all of these people, it’s time to focus on what’s important for me.”
According to Sheriff Steve Moore, out of a department that has roughly 900 employees, he only has seven sworn Captains under his direction – one of which is assigned to execute the Lathrop Police Services contract and run the satellite department.
But it’s not quite as simple as just assigning somebody for the post.
Because the position requires the approval of the Lathrop City Council – complete with an interview with two council members and Lathrop city staffers – the position comes with an extra dose of scrutiny for the high-ranking brass within the department.
With Hohe’s command of both the professional standards and investigations divisions under her belt prior to the assignment, her pedigree spoke to the council and those who ultimately made the decision that she was a good for the job.
“It seems like just yesterday we had the meeting to make the decision on who the next police chief was going to be and boy am I glad that it was you,” City Manager Steve Salvatore said. “You worked to build a team that has accomplished some great things for this community.
“Sheriff Moore – we got the best four years out of her, and I’m just glad that she spent those last four years here with us.”
Under Hohe’s leadership a Lathrop Police Officer earned prestigious Officer of the Year Awards and the department received national recognition for its traffic safety programs – a rarity for a small department.
To contact reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.