Russell “Rusty” San Felice was promoted from assistant chief to chief of the Jerome Police Department, succeeding Allan Muma, on Tuesday, Dec. 10. The department has five full-time officers, three part-time officers and two parking enforcement officers.
“I want the residents of Jerome to know you are also family, and I will sincerely miss all of you. These last 25 years have been some of the best years of my life,” Muma wrote in his retirement announcement on Oct. 4.
Muma cited family obligations as the reason for his retirement and said that he would be relocating to the area of Rose City, Mich.
“I had experience in larger departments in community policing, which gave me a basis for what small-town policing is like,” San Felice said. “Basically every officer is a community police officer. We deal with our community and we get to know our community well. Most of our residents know you by first name. And a significant portion of the residents have my mobile phone and will call me directly.”
San Felice has worked for JPD for 12 years, following five years with the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office. He retired from the Prince George’s County Police Department in Maryland in 2007 and also spent six years in the United States Marine Corps Reserve.
San Felice said there remains a lot for him to learn since leading a small municipal police agency requires the chief to handle fleet management, property oversight, evidence control and more without the support staff available in larger departments.
“When you get into a smaller town, it’s more about administration and justice, and it’s more about determining what is best for the community,” San Felice said. “Sometimes that arrest or that citation might not be what’s best. Sometimes it’s mitigation between neighbors. It’s working out disputes versus taking the black-and-white law enforcement action. And I learned a lot of that from [Muma] when I came into this community.”
He identified fleet management as one of JPD’s capital needs.
“Cars, especially on this mountain, going up and down the hill and taking emergency calls at the top of the mountain, it’s rough on cars,” San Felice said. “So we have a continuing need in evaluating our fleet … The other thing that we deal with here is we have a paid parking program which requires us to have these kiosks … Our probably biggest capital project we have coming from [JPD] perspective in the next fiscal year is going to be replacing our parking kiosks.”
San Felice estimated the replacement, which will be discussed during the preparations for the next fiscal year’s budget, will cost between $30,000 and $40,000; as of October 2019, the town had six kiosks installed.
San Felice said that updating department policy to include the use of BolaWrap restraint devices is also a priority. The devices were added to JPD’s equipment this past year, but their use is currently governed by a standing order.
“What I wish [people] knew [about JPD] is that this is a relaxed environment to work in,” San Felice said. “We’re not overwhelmed with calls for service like you are in larger agencies, so you have time to get to know your community … There’s not a lot of agencies where you cross-train with your fire department and you learn skills like rope rescue, have the fire department send you to emergency medical training. This is the only agency I’ve worked for where you get to delve into several different skill sets as a patrol officer.”
San Felice has been married to his wife Stephanie for 22 years; the couple have six grown children and 11 grandchildren. His hobbies include rifle and bow hunting for deer and elk.
“I have two motorcycles. I have [a] Harley-Davidson Pan America, which is an adventure-style motorcycle, and I have a Moto Guzzi V85 TT,” San Felice said. “One of my favorite rides ever would be just taking 89A through Oak Creek and going up into Flagstaff.”
San Felice’s said his short-term goal is to complete a computer server upgrade to connect JPD’s laptops and his long-term goal is staff retention.
“It’s challenging, it’s a lot of work, but it’s probably the most fun place I’ve ever worked,” San Felice said.
