After a 30-year law enforcement career, Anaheim Police Chief Rick Armendariz is retiring with plans for a nationwide search for his successor set to take place.
Armendariz will assist as the city works through a recruitment and transition process for the next chief of the Anaheim Police Department, Orange County’s largest city police agency.
Anaheim plans to undertake a national recruitment process open to candidates from outside and within the department and that will include public input and a candidate review panel.
“Chief Armendariz is leaving Anaheim better than he found it,” Mayor Ashleigh Aitken said. “He has been a tireless partner and advocate for community policing in our schools, neighborhoods and alongside our businesses. Despite challenges seen throughout our region, Anaheim under Chief Armendariz stands out for consistent and sustained declines in crime in our city. On behalf of Anaheim, I thank Chief Armendariz for his service to our community.”
“The Anaheim Police Department has seen an unprecedented period of growth in people and strategic innovation under Chief Armendariz,” City Manager Jim Vanderpool said. “Both professionally and personally, I thank him for all he has done for Anaheim and for helping us ensure a smooth transition as we look to swear in our city’s next chief in the months ahead.”
Armendariz became Anaheim’s 37th chief in August 2023 after coming to Anaheim in 2019 and serving as deputy chief.
He is timing his retirement now to allow for Anaheim’s next chief to be sworn in and established as the city prepares for the 2028 Summer Olympics with volleyball in Anaheim and major expansions underway around Honda Center and the Disneyland Resort.
“Coming to Anaheim has been the peak of my career,” said Armendariz, who lives in downtown Anaheim with his family. “As a police explorer at 16, I never thought one day I would lead policing in Anaheim with world-class theme parks, sports and entertainment. This has been the assignment of a lifetime. Although it is hard to leave a profession I love, I am comforted knowing the department is well positioned to continue to grow to even greater heights. The Anaheim Police Department is made up of amazing people with servant hearts and a passion for public safety, which makes this department second to none. I now stand ready to assist with a steady transition process for a city that has done so much for me.”
Under Armendariz, the Anaheim Police Department has grown to a record 430 sworn positions in the city’s current budget, up from 408 five years ago.
