by Andrew Alonzo | aalonzo@claremont-courier.com

Claremont Police Department announced last week that 29-year veteran officer Michael Ciszek had been named its 14^thchief of police. Ciszek, 52, will replace Aaron Fate, who is retiring April 1.

“I mean, it’s the pinnacle of a career to be able to be chief, so it’s a big deal,” Ciszek said. “It’s truly an honor.”

His father Walter Ciszek was a career policeman with the Upland PD. But young Michael Ciszek wasn’t always keen on following in his footsteps.

“I originally wanted to be an astronaut,” he said. “I had gotten a nomination [to attend] the Naval Academy, but I turned 21 before July 4, [1994] and so I wasn’t able to go to the academy. And I’m like, well if I can’t be an astronaut, I’m not going to go to Naval Academy.”

After giving it some thought, he chose law enforcement.

“Every day … you’re out there, you’re helping people, you’re involved in some high adrenaline incidents, and being able to be in control of those feelings and emotions and still do your job to the best of your ability, and for the right reasons,” he said. “It was that public service thing that I think that, really kind of focused me towards that. So then when I went in it was all in, let’s go.”

Ciszek applied to other agencies. The first offer he had was from Claremont. “So, I jumped at it,” he said.

He started as a police officer in 1996. From 1999 to 2001 he was a motor officer. He was promoted to sergeant in 2001, then to lieutenant in 2009. For the next 11 years he worked as a traffic bureau lieutenant, watch commander, detective bureau lieutenant, and support services supervisor. On November 24, 2021, he reached his late father’s highest rank, captain, where he managed the daily operations of patrol, traffic, and detective bureaus, and the parking enforcement unit, and oversaw a 911 system upgrade and other improvement projects.

Ciszek’s new job brings both professional and personal satisfaction.

“I don’t say that I ever aspired to be the chief,” he said. “The joke with my dad before he passed was that he was a captain, and he would say, ‘I left one spot for you to go.’ And so it was kind of that honor to say, okay, I’ve hit that spot. My dad’s deceased now, but it was pretty cool to say hey, he left that spot for me, and I got it. It’s like I achieved what he envisioned, you know, years ago.”

Ciszek said he aims to continue delivering high quality customer service and policing to Claremont’s residents.

“It’s just continuing to … try to create a great working environment for everybody as a team going forward, and continuing some of the things that legacies of [Chief Fate] has left that he’s gone on with and had been doing,” he said. “Again just the quality customer service and maintaining morale in the police department.”

Ciszek said CPD officers play many roles in the relatively small department — from crime scene investigators to evidence teams and more. As such, officer training is one of his primary areas of focus.

“… We do a lot of training, sometimes more than other agencies, because we’re expected to do so much more,” he said. “You want to make sure that you’re giving them all the tools to help them be as proficient and efficient as possible.”

He described his leadership style:

“I’m always trying to do what’s best, the greatest good for the greatest number of people,” he said. “And recognizing I’m here to serve and how do I do that and … make sure that the rest of the people that are on the team are doing that. It’s being cognizant of people’s emotions, doing what’s right. I’m not going to paint this picture of everything may be hunky dory; if it’s not, it’s not. But how do we address it and make it better?

“It’s also the opportunity to be able to be the residents’ or the citizens’ chief of police as well. So, you always remember where you come from and what the purpose is, and doing it of the people, by the people, for the people type of thing.”

Ciszek will be sworn in at a free and open to the public 5 p.m. April 17 badge pinning ceremony at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel, 555 W. Foothill Blvd., Claremont.