Commander Alex Turcotte Promoted to Chief of Police
Sep 17, 2021 12:00AM ● By City of Citrus Heights
Mayor Steve Miller, Chief Alex Turcotte, and Interim City Manager Chris Boyd stand ready to serve the City's residents. Photo: City of Citrus Heights
Citrus Heights Police Department Commander Promoted after 20 Years of Police Service
CITRUS HEIGHTS, CA (MPG) - City Manager Chris Boyd announced that Alex Turcotte will be appointed as the City of Citrus Heights’ next Police Chief. Turcotte currently serves as Citrus Heights Police Department’s (CHPD) Investigations Commander and has 20 years of experience in law enforcement, 15 of which has been serving the Citrus Heights community.
Turcotte takes the helm of the Police Department from Ronald Lawrence, who recently accepted a role with the Costa Mesa Police Department. Turcotte’s promotion marks the first time CHPD will have a Chief appointed from within its own ranks.
“I had the pleasure of hiring Alex fifteen years ago, when the Citrus Heights Police Department had just formed,” said City Manager Chris Boyd, who served as CHPD’s first Chief, from 2005 to 2016. “Since joining us as a police officer in 2006, Turcotte has proven his leadership, accountability, and community-driven spirit time and again. He has made a special connection with both the Citrus Heights community and our men and women in blue. After an extensive evaluation, I am certain he is the right candidate to lead our award-winning Police Department into its next chapter.”
Turcotte begins his new post as Chief of Police immediately following his swearing in today, Friday, September 10, 2021.
“I am tremendously honored and grateful to continue to serve the City of Citrus Heights as Police Chief,” said Turcotte. “I want to thank both Chris Boyd and Ron Lawrence for believing in me and serving as shining examples of innovative, compassionate, leaders who relentlessly strive for excellence in their communities. I have big shoes to fill and I am excited to lead the outstanding members of this department to continue CHPD’s legacy of ‘Community First’ service.”
Turcotte began his law enforcement career with the Ventura Police Department in 2001 where he worked as a patrol officer and an operator on the SWAT Team. In October of 2006, Turcotte was hired by the Citrus Heights Police Department as a police officer and quickly promoted to the rank of Sergeant in September of 2007. He served as CHPD’s first POP Sergeant, a SWAT Team leader, and supervised the Special Investigations Unit before promoting to Lieutenant in March of 2013. As a Police Lieutenant, Turcotte managed a variety of units within the Patrol Division, Special Services Division, and the Office of the Chief and held a collateral assignment as the Executive Officer for the Department’s SWAT Team.
Turcotte holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice and a Master’s in Business Administration with a focus on Project Management, both from Columbia Southern University. He is a graduate of Command College and the Sherman Block Supervisory Leadership Institute. He has been a repeat panelist of the University of San Francisco Law Enforcement Leadership Symposium, discussing current Law Enforcement best-practices and strategies. He also represented Citrus Heights at the International POP conference where he presented the successful collaborative strategies used to lower crime and improve the quality of life for the Sayonara neighborhood.
Turcotte was awarded “2010 Officer of the Year” from the Citrus Heights Chamber of Commerce. In 2011, he received the esteemed Citrus Heights Chief’s Award for his work in Problem Oriented Policing. He is also the recipient of two separate awards, in 2013 and 2017, for his critical role in resolving high-risk emergencies with the Department’s SWAT Team.
Turcotte is an active member of the Citrus Heights community, recently completing a term as the President of the Citrus Heights Rotary Club and now serving as the President of the Citrus Heights Rotary Foundation.