The City of King regrettably announces the departure of its Police Chief, Robert Masterson. He recently announced he will be leaving to accept the Police Chief position with the City of Atascadero after serving in his current position since July 2017. Chief Masterson’s last day with the City of King will be January 3, 2021. Chief Masterson stated: “It has been a joy to have had the honor to work for the City of King. To see the City staff, under Mr. Adams’ leadership, the council and community working with such a singular goal of making a safer place to live has been an extremely rare pleasure. I have been amazingly surprised with the positive results that this teamwork has achieved, and it will probably be one of the pinnacles of my working life.”
Chief Masterson will be missed by City officials, staff and the community. According to City Manager Steve Adams: “His record of success has been extraordinary. He rebuilt King City’s Police operation to be a model department, implemented a comprehensive plan that saw annual shootings decrease from 32 in 2017 to only 4 in the following 3 years, and led a dedicated effort to rebuild trust and a positive relationship between the Police Department and community. We are very grateful for the time he has served here and wish him continued success in the future.” Mayor LeBarre added: “The City greatly appreciates Chief Masterson’s years of hard work rebuilding our Police Department, virtually eliminating violent crime within our city. Our Police Department is stronger than ever and under his leadership has regained the trust and respect of our community. We will miss chief Masterson and we wish him and his family all the best in this new chapter of his life.”
With Chief Masterson’s departure, City Manager Adams has announced the appointment of Captain Keith Boyd as Interim Police Chief effective on January 4, 2021. According to Adams, the process for selecting the permanent replacement will be determined within the next one to two months. City Manager Adams stated: “We are very fortunate to have someone as capable as Captain Boyd available to step into this role immediately. He has tremendous law enforcement and leadership skills and experience. I am very confident that he will continue to expand on the progress that has been made.”
Captain Boyd has a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from California State University, Sacramento and a Master of Science Degree in Law Enforcement and Public Safety Leadership from the University of San Diego. Prior experience includes work as a Deputy Sheriff with the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office; Deputy, Sergeant and Lieutenant with the Marin County Sheriff’s Office; and Deputy Chief with the Woodburn, Oregon Police Department.
According to Captain Boyd: “I would like to thank City Manager Adams, Mayor Lebarre and the members of the City Council for giving me the opportunity to serve as the Interim Chief of Police. Over the past 4 plus years, Chief Masterson has led the organization successfully building a culture of inclusiveness and engagement focused on serving the residents of our community. As a mentor, Chief Masterson instilled his vision for the future of the police department as a partner to the community and I thank him for bringing me to King City to be a part of that vision. It is my honor to serve as the Interim Chief of Police and want to ensure the community that the members of the organization will continue to strive for excellence in their service to them.” Chief Masterson added: “I am blessed to feel that I am leaving the King City Police Department in good hands with Captain Keith Boyd. I am confident that he will continue the path of community partnership and internal improvement that has been seen thus far and quite possibly surpass the vision I had. I will miss the community and those I have served with immensely and wish the City of King and its community the best.”
Chief Masterson will be recognized for his service as the King City Police Chief at the next Council meeting, which will be held virtually via Zoom at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, January 12, 2021. The public is welcome and encouraged to participate.
For more information, contact Steve Adams at 831-386-5917 or by e-mail at sadams@kingcity.com.