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Politics

Newly-Hired Chula Vista Police Chief Drops Out of Race for Sheriff

Newly-hired Chula Vista Police Chief David Bejarano is officially dropping out of the race for San Diego County Sheriff. Chula Vista's new top cop used to be San Diego's Police Chief and was also a U.S. Marshall at one point. Bejarano was appointed as Chula Vista's police chief earlier this week. He had raised more than $100,000 in his race for county sheriff. But he says he couldn't let the Chula Vista job go by.

"Our treasurer's working on closing the campaign and they will be processing, obviously, refunds to all our contributors in the next couple weeks. But, again, this is an opportunity I couldn't let pass," he says.

Bejarano says he plans to focus on traffic and car related crimes. He says he's also reaching out to law enforcement agencies on both sides of the border to address drug related crimes. He's lived in the Chula Vista area with his family for about 30 years.

KPBS has created a public safety coverage policy to guide decisions on what stories we prioritize, as well as whose narratives we need to include to tell complete stories that best serve our audiences. This policy was shaped through months of training with the Poynter Institute and feedback from the community. You can read the full policy here.