Scotts Valley Police Chief Steve Walpole has announced he will retire at the end of October 2025. Walpole has served on the Scotts Valley, Calif., police department for 11 years, the last eight as police chief. (Scotts Valley Police via Bay City News)

Scotts Valley Police Chief Steve Walpole will retire at the end of the month, the department said.  

Walpole has served in law enforcement for 30 years, 11 of which were with the Scotts Valley department. He has been chief for eight years.  

“Leading this department — and working alongside such a dedicated team of professionals–has been the most meaningful chapter of my career,” he said in a statement released by the Police Department.  

Twenty-eight people worked under Walpole and he is credited with strengthening the link between police and the community. Body-worn and in-car cameras were implemented during his tenure and he brought back the use of police dogs, the department said.  

Prior to coming to Scotts Valley, Walpole worked in Los Gatos.  

His last day on the job will be Oct. 30. After that, Captain Jayson Rutherford will serve as interim chief, according to City Manager Mali LaGoe.  

Katy St. Clair got her start in journalism by working in the classifieds department at the East Bay Express during the height of alt weeklies, then sweet talked her way into becoming staff writer, submissions editor, and music editor. She has been a columnist in the East Bay Express, SF Weekly, and the San Francisco Examiner. Starting in 2015, she begrudgingly scaled the inverted pyramid at dailies such as the Vallejo Times-Herald, The Vacaville Reporter, and the Daily Republic. She has her own independent news site and blog that covers the delightfully dysfunctional town of Vallejo, California, where she also collaborates with the investigative team at Open Vallejo. A passionate advocate for people with developmental disabilities, she serves on both the Board of the Arc of Solano and the Arc of California. She lives in Vallejo.