Fountain Valley appoints Michael Ishii as interim police chief

Fountain Valley residents may have noticed a new man in uniform at various events last week, as Michael Ishii began introducing himself to city staff and community members.

Ishii will serve as the interim police chief while the city carries out a search to fill the position. The City Council made it official on Tuesday night, when the governing body approved a contract to have Ishii lead the department as a retired annuitant.

The contract recognizes Aug. 5 as the start date, and it will remain in effect for one year or until a permanent police chief is hired. A retired annuitant may not exceed 960 hours within a fiscal year. Ishii will be compensated at an hourly rate of $127.52.

Ishii had a 32-year career with the Hawthorne police department, spending the last four years as police chief before retiring in December 2022. He succeeds Matthew Sheppard, who retired as Fountain Valley’s police chief on July 4. Sheppard had served in that position since taking over for Kevin Childe in December 2019.

“If there’s anything I can do for the next several months here, it’s really provide an opportunity for me to share my experiences,” Ishii said. “I’ve come from 32 years of policing in Hawthorne, the last four as a chief, and this is a great opportunity, and it’s an honor to be here with everybody to really keep this police department going. It’s a tremendous police department. You have great people working here.”

Mayor Glenn Grandis applauded Ishii’s efforts before his contract had been voted on. Among his public appearances, Ishii attended National Night Out during his second day on the job on Aug. 6. He also spoke at a town hall meeting on the issue of homelessness the following evening.

“You’re a class act, and I’m very honored and pleased that you’re willing to serve as our interim police chief,” Grandis said.

Reflecting on his first week with the city, Ishii said he felt the department has the support of its residents.

“It really reaffirmed that you have great community support for the police department,” Ishii said in looking back on the National Night Out event. “For me, it’s about making sure that we never take that for granted, that [the] community support is earned by all of our actions and really having a great police department that meets the needs of our community.”