Sunnyvale hires one of its own as new public safety chief

Sunnyvale has hired a new chief for its integrated Department of Public Safety.

After a nationwide search, City Manager Tim Kirby appointed Daniel Pistor, the department’s deputy chief of fire services, after former Chief Phan Ngo retired in April. Pistor started his new assignment June 22 and is charged with overseeing the city’s integrated Department of Public Safety (DPS), in which all officers receive police, fire and EMT training. The department has 293 sworn and non-sworn personnel.

Pistor has served with DPS for 22 years in various roles across multiple services, including captaining the city’s SWAT team and leading the COVID-19 response during emergency situations.

“I’m honored to lead the exceptional professionals of the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety,” Pistor said in a city statement. “Community trust is the cornerstone of public safety, and I will continue to prioritize transparency, communication and equity in every aspect of our work.”

Prior to coming to Sunnyvale in 2003, Pistor was a police officer in the Honolulu Police Department, building a foundation in community-based law enforcement through the High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas program.

Pistor has already spent years engaging with Sunnyvale residents through the Public Safety Citizens Academy, National Night Out and the Firefighter Pancake Breakfast, a city statement said. Ngo previously told San José Spotlight regularly engaging with residents is especially important for the department to protect and serve the community.

Devon Klein, president of the Sunnyvale Public Safety Officers Association, said the union is excited about Pistor’s promotion. He said many previous chiefs hired from outside the department take more time to understand its unique structure, but Pistor will be “Monday ready” because of his experience.

“Dan is somebody that understands our people, he understands our organization, where we’re at, where our strengths are, where our weaknesses are,” Klein told San José Spotlight. “I think we’re going to see that he’s ready to serve and impact the community immediately.”
This also means Pistor is familiar with the department’s ongoing projects and problems, such as the city’s disproportionately long paramedic response time and need to upgrade data collection systems. Klein said he hopes Pistor prioritizes these issues and advocates for improvements to the department through staffing and infrastructure fixes.

He said the union sat in on a panel of candidates during the selection process, which provided insights into the various backgrounds and skills each candidate had. Klein said the view into the hiring gives members more confidence in Pistor as chief.

“Chief Pistor is in a unique position to lead Sunnyvale’s Public Safety Department into its next chapter,” Kirby said in the statement. “Over the past 22 years, he has risen through the ranks, earning the confidence and respect of his colleagues while strengthening the department’s reputation through dedicated service to our community.”

Contact B. Sakura Cannestra at [email protected] or @SakuCannestra on X.