On Monday, September 21, 2020, Gilroy City Council appointed Gilroy Police Captain Pedro Espinoza as Chief of Police for the City of Gilroy. Chief Espinoza is a veteran of law enforcement with over 25 years of experience; 17 of those years with the Gilroy Police Department. Chief Espinoza’s leadership has been felt throughout the City through his dedication to and open communication with our community. Prior to coming to the Gilroy Police Department, Chief Espinoza worked for the Vacaville and UC Davis Police Departments. He has held several specialized positions and assignments including being the department’s Public Information Officer and Internal Affairs Investigator. Other assignments include Anti-Crime Team Investigator, Department of Justice Unified Narcotics Enforcement Team, Field Training Officer, Corporal, Sergeant, member of the department’s Defensive Tactics Training Staff, and Honor Guard. Chief Espinoza has also taught arrest and control tactics at the police academy. He is an alumnus of Chico State, Santa Clara County Leadership Academy; and recently, the FBI National Academy at Quantico, VA.
“The City of Gilroy is fortunate to have an incoming Chief with this amount of experience and knowledge,” shared Interim City Administrator Jimmy Forbis. “We are even more fortunate that he is already familiar with the Gilroy community and our unique challenges and advantages. He will be a great benefit to our community and will keep our Police Department moving forward.”
Additionally, the Gilroy City Council appointed Acting Fire Chief Jim Wyatt to Gilroy Fire Chief. Fire
Chief Wyatt has lived in Gilroy for 34 years and comes to this position with extensive experience and strong leadership skills.
Chief Wyatt has worked in the fire service for 35 years; starting as a firefighter and paramedic and promoting through the ranks of fire engineer, fire captain, battalion chief, and division chief. He has worked for the Gilroy Fire Department for 7 ½ years and has taught emergency medicine for 38 years to nearly 10,000 aspiring EMTs and paramedics.
Over this last year, Chief Wyatt has been out front, leading the City of Gilroy through the COVID-19 pandemic by adeptly managing the City’s emergency response as the Emergency Operations Manager. In this role, Wyatt’s committed leadership has been felt throughout the City as he has provided vision and direction to the City’s Emergency Operations Team empowering each team member to fulfill their respective roles.
We’re excited to see both Chief Espinoza and Chief Wyatt apply their leadership and experience to these new roles.