Santa Maria police chief to retire in November
SANTA MARIA, Calif. – The City of Santa Maria announced the retirement of Police Chief Marc Schneider which will take effect on Nov. 29.
Below is a press release on the announcement:
Acting City Manager Chuen Wu announces the pending retirement of Police Chief Marc Schneider, effective November 29th. The City looks forward to working with a recruiting firm experienced in public safety to fill the position. During that time, Commander Dan Cohen will service as the Interim Police Chief.
“We thank Chief Schneider for this three decades of service to the community,” Wu said.
Chief Schneider’s law enforcement career began in 1993 with the City of Pismo Beach, and in 1995 was hired by the Santa Maria Police Department. He worked as an Officer, Sergeant, Lieutenant, and in March 2017 was promoted to Division Commander. He became Acting Chief on December 19, 2020 and became Police Chief on January 2, 2021.
A longtime Santa Marian, he has a passion for serving the community and serves on the following non-profit boards: Board of Trustees for Child Abuse Listening Mediation (CALM), Advisory Board for One805, and Department Liaison for the Santa Maria Police Council. He is also a member of the following civic organizations: Breakfast Rotary Club of Santa Maria, and the Santa Maria Elks Lodge #1538.
Commander Dan Cohen began his law enforcement career more than 25 years ago with the Ontario Police Department before he was able to transfer back home to the Santa Maria Police Department in 1998. He has held every rank the department offered: Officer, Corporal, Sergeant, Lieutenant, and was most recently promoted to Division Commander in 2017.
The Police Department has approximately 200 positions. Its Santa Maria Public Safety communications center receives about 200,000 calls for Police and Fire service every year.
Questions may be directed to the City Manager’s Office, (805) 925-0951 extension 2372.
City of Santa Maria
