About Us

Font Size: + -

Feedback Print

Meet the Command Staff

Chief Christie Calderwood

Christie Calderwood

Chief Christie Calderwood was appointed Chief of Police for the City of Carlsbad in April 2024. Since joining the Carlsbad Police Department in 2006, she has advanced through the ranks, serving as Assistant Chief of Police beginning in July 2022. Chief Calderwood holds a bachelor’s degree in Literature and Writing, as well as a Master of Science in Administration with an emphasis in Leadership.

In 2013, Chief Calderwood was promoted to Sergeant, where she served as a Patrol supervisor and later developed and led the department’s first Crime Suppression Team. She was promoted to Lieutenant in 2017 and held several key assignments, including Patrol Watch Commander, Traffic and Special Events Lieutenant, and General Investigations Lieutenant. In 2021, she was promoted to Captain, overseeing Support Operations.

Chief Calderwood has completed numerous distinguished professional development programs, including the Sherman Block Leadership Institute, the FBI National Academy, and California POST Command College. In July 2021, she was recognized by the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce as one of the City of Carlsbad’s “40 Under 40” emerging leaders. She also previously served as President of the California Peace Officers’ Association.

A longtime resident of Carlsbad, Chief Calderwood attended La Costa Canyon High School.

Ryan Opeka, Assistant Chief of Police

Opeka, R Captain Ryan Opeka has been a police officer since 2005, serving in Carlsbad since 2007. Ryan was promoted to Assistant Chief in June 2024 and oversees the Executive Operations Bureau. Prior to that, he was the Operations Captain, overseeing Patrol.

As a Carlsbad Police Officer, he has held several roles to include Patrol, Narcotics Detective, FBI Gang Task Force, Property Crimes Detective Sergeant, Crimes of Violence Detective Sergeant, General Investigations Lieutenant, and Professional Standards Lieutenant.

Additionally, Captain Opeka has served nearly 15 years on the SWAT Team, occupying every position from SWAT Operator to SWAT Commander. He is currently assigned to the Field Operations Bureau where he oversees the Patrol Division and Front Desk operations.

Prior to being a Police Officer, Captain Opeka was an Infantry Marine. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Crime, Law and Justice from Penn State University and a Master’s degree in Organizational Leadership from the University of San Diego. He is a proud resident of Carlsbad and enjoys serving the community in which he is a part of.

Darbie Ernst, Support Operations Captain

D. Ernst Darbie Ernst has been a police officer with the Carlsbad Police Department since 2000. As a Carlsbad Police Officer, she has held several roles, including Patrol Officer, Property Crimes Detective, Patrol Sergeant, Crimes of Violence Sergeant, Professional Standards and Services Bureau Sergeant, Special Investigations Lieutenant, General Investigations Lieutenant and Watch Commander.

She is currently assigned to the Support Operations Bureau, where she oversees the Investigations Division, Traffic Division, Public Information Office, and Property and Evidence Unit. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology with a Minor in Spanish from the University of California at Santa Barbara and a Master’s Degree in Organizational Leadership from the University of San Diego.

Reid Shipley, Field Operations Captain

Shipley, R AC Reid Shipley been in law enforcement for over 20 years, all of which have been with the Carlsbad Police Department. He was promoted to Operations Captain after serving as the Department’s Professional Standards Lieutenant. Prior to Professional Standards, Reid was a Patrol Lieutenant, a Sergeant in the Investigations Division for Family Services, and Patrol Sergeant. Reid has been a K9 SWAT operator, SWAT Sergeant, and SWAT Commander. He was also a Field Training Officer, Defensive Tactics Instructor, and De-Escalation instructor.

Reid also happens to be a second-generation Carlsbad Police Officer following his father Captain Mike Shipley’s footsteps. Reid has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science and a Master’s Degree in Law Enforcement Public Safety Leadership. He is a Carlsbad resident and is proud to lead the outstanding members of this department.

Cindy Anderson, Police Administrative Manager

Cindy Anderson has been with the Carlsbad Police Department since 2007, where she started as an intern and worked her way up to an Investigative Aide, Crime Analyst, Senior Crime Intel Analyst, Senior Management Analyst, and currently the Police Administrative Manager.

Cindy has also worked as the Regional Manager at ARJIS, San Diego County’s law enforcement hub for information sharing. Prior to coming into law enforcement, Cindy served as a Sergeant in the United States Marine Corps. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice and Master’s Degree in Administration of Criminal Justice.

She is also an adjunct professor for California State University Long Beach and is a certified POST instructor, teaching criminal intelligence, tactical analysis, spatial analysis, investigative analysis, and crime analytics.

Cindy is currently serving on the IACP CJIS Committee and has served as the President and Vice President of the San Diego Crime Intelligence Analyst Association. Cindy has been recognized as the California Crime Intel Analyst of the Year and Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce’s Women of Impact and has been awarded the Carlsbad Police Distinguished Service Medal and Medal of Merit. As the Police Administrative Manager, Cindy oversees the Communications Division, Records Division, and Crime Analysis/Crime Prevention Unit.

Mission, vision & values

Mission statement

To protect and serve the community with integrity, professionalism and valor

Values

Leading with:

Commitment: Dedication to duty and responsibility

Honesty: Sincere and truthful in our endeavors

Respect: Treat everyone with dignity

Accountability: Responsible and transparent in our actions and words

Compassion: concern and sympathy for others

Ensures our organizational success

Vision

Embrace the future and honor the past in pursuit of a safer tomorrow

History

History of CPD Upon incorporation as a city in July 1952, the City of Carlsbad hired its first police officer in October of the same year, Chief of Police Max Palkowski. The chief was the only member of the department and had a desk at the State of California Parks and Recreation Department on Highway 101.

Only 32 years old when he assumed the responsibility of his new job, Chief Palkowski immediately expanded his one-man police force by recruiting volunteer reserve police officers. The city could not afford a vehicle so Chief Palkowski pressed his own vehicle into service as the first city police car by placing a siren on its roof. The City of Carlsbad Police Department was on its way now with one goal in mind: to protect and serve the city residents.

In September 1952, the city hired one officer and in January 1953 hired two more and purchased its first police car. For the next few years, the city hired one officer each fiscal year.

Women in CPD

In 1953, the city purchased the original St. Patrick's Church and converted it into City Hall. All city offices, including the library, were housed in the building. Years later, the building was moved to McGee Park and it was renamed Heritage Hall.

The first building constructed with city funds specifically for office space was in 1954 at the intersection of Pio Pico Drive and Elm Avenue (Carlsbad Village Drive) and housed City Hall and the Police and Fire Departments. Although the city funded most of the project, city merchants and residents donated time, labor and equipment.

The new facility became a great community project. Bauer Lumber donated lumber, Walters Electric donated electrical wiring and installation, and residents with various skills helped during their spare time. Police officers, fire fighters and reserve officers from each department spent most of their free time painting and building. The completed project was a testimonial to the supportive, caring community.

However, in 1968 the widening of Interstate 5 required this building to be demolished. On September 8, 1968, City Hall and the Police Department moved into a newly constructed city complex where the present day City Hall now resides.

As the City of Carlsbad continued to annex more land over the years, the Police Department grew from one sworn police officer in 1952 to 10 officers by 1971 and to 54 officers by 1981. In October 1986, the new 53,600 square-foot Carlsbad Public Safety Center was completed. The department had 80 members, 62 sworn and 18 civilian. Today the City of Carlsbad Police Department has more than doubled to more than 160 members.

The City of Carlsbad Safety Training Center, located across from the Public Safety and Services Center, was approved by voters in 2002 and broke ground in March 2010. It opened in May 2013. The Safety Training Center provides a wide variety of realistic training scenarios, and consists of a five-story commercial style tower, a two story house, two indoor shooting ranges, a streetscape and classroom space.

Organizational chart

In Memoriam

This is dedicated to officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice while serving and protecting City of Carlsbad residents.

Officer Wesley S. Fox

End of Watch: Feb. 13, 1978

On February 13, 1978, Officer Wesley Stuart Fox was dispatched to an industrial burglary alarm. While he was responding, Officer Fox lost control of his patrol unit on a rain and mud covered roadway and collided with another vehicle. He died a short time later at a local hospital.

Wesley was born on September 24, 1945, at Jamaica Hospital in Queens, N.Y. Wesley graduated from Rio Hondo College on June 11, 1970, with an Associate in Arts degree. While attending Rio Hondo College, he majored in psychology. Wes furthered his education by attending California State University Fullerton, earning his bachelor of arts degree in sociology on June 8, 1973.

On September 18, 1973, Wesley married Colby Ann Attridge in San Clemente, Calif. Less than a year later, Wesley successfully completed the Carlsbad Police Officer Reserve Academy on August 3, 1974, and also graduated from the FBI Law Officers Training School in Carlsbad in September 1974.

Prior to becoming a City of Carlsbad police officer, Wesley was employed by a local psychiatric clinic as a mental health worker and as a psychiatric assistant in Rosemead, Calif. Wesley also held a position as a karate instructor for a studio in Whittier, Calif. Wesley is survived by his wife, Colby, of Port Townsend, WA, and his father, Leon, of Oceanside, CA.

Officer William R. "Billy" Jack

End of Watch: Sept. 1, 1991

The frame around his police motorcycle license plate read, "One more ticket and I get the microwave." Billy Jack never got his microwave, but in three years with City of Carlsbad Police Department, he won hundreds of friends.

Nearly 1,200 people, including more than 600 uniformed officers, gathered at Carlsbad Community Church to say farewell to William "Billy" Robert Jack. The 30-year-old traffic officer, known to his colleagues as Billy Jack and "Billy the Kid," died September 1, 1991, of head injuries after being thrown from his motorcycle while on duty. He had been directing traffic after a Labor Day weekend concert when he lost control of his motorcycle, hit a center divider and crashed.

The joke on his license plate was typical of Jack's sense of humor, friends said, but hardly reflected his serious dedication to his job. Police Chief Bob Vales didn't sanction the microwave joke when he discovered it, but he decided to risk offending citizens and let Jack keep it. "I'm glad I did," Vales said during the funeral service. "When I had the Billy Jacks of the world working for me, my job was a lot easier."

Kids loved Jack, Vales said, and Jack loved playing the part of crime-fighting dog McGruff, running a bicycle safety class, and taking time to meet children around the city.

Jack was born in San Jose on Feb. 28, 1961, and graduated from high school in Falmouth, Mass. in 1979. He worked for the Orange County Sheriff's Department before joining the department in 1988, where he was assigned to its traffic division in April. He was engaged to marry Tina Cunniff of Oceanside, CA.

Jack is survived by his mother, Annine Jack, of Oceanside; father, Kenneth Jack, of Escondido; brothers Curtis Jack of Oceanside and Douglas Jack, of Lake Buena Vista, Florida; and grandparents Mr. and Mrs. James H. Jack of Southbury, Connecticut.