Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer
In the Line of Duty: David L. Gullo is known for his loyalty to the city and to the Campbell Police Department, which he has led as chief since 1996.
Policing from the Heart
CPD Chief David Gullo has been with agency for more than 20 years
By Sheila Sanchez
Editor's note: The following is the first of a three-part series about the Campbell Police Department and Police Chief David Gullo.
David Gullo was a rookie. He looked it and acted it.
But he was spit and polished, ready to serve and protect, wearing his nightstick, tear gas, portable radio, gun, ammunition, handcuffs and flashlight, along with a clean and pressed police uniform.
That's how former Campbell Police Department Chief Robert J. Lockwood remembers the man who's led the Campbell Police Department (CPD) since 1996.
It was the early 1980s. Gullo had just graduated from the police academy and was ready for officer training, which he would complete with flying colors.
In his early 20s, Gullo exuded confidence, control and a love of duty--the most important qualities in the field of law enforcement.
Early Beginnings
Gullo, 43, was born in Las Vegas, Nev., the youngest of three boys, and his family moved to Campbell shortly thereafter. Growing up he attended Castro Middle School, Latimer School and Prospect High School.
From the time he was a young boy, Gullo was fascinated with law enforcement, and he was particularly enamored with the stories told by his relatives and friends who were police officers.
He was also influenced by the example of former CPD chiefs John D. Morgan and Donald R. Burr, who were family friends and became his role models.
Gullo loved Morgan, who died in 1980, because he was always upfront and cared about the community. And he admires Burr, who is now retired but serves on the Campbell City Council, for his work ethic. Burr in particular made an impression on him when Burr selected him to be a cadet-a civilian given an opportunity to join the police department. Burr would be his police chief throughout the majority of his career as a police officer.
But there were other reasons why Gullo would consider becoming a police officer later in life. His own father, Larry Gullo, who lives in Campbell, served as a police officer with the Las Vegas Police Department and as a part-time auxiliary reserve police officer with the San Jose Police Department (SJPD).
His childhood dreams are now a reality.
Sitting in his office, in the downstairs floor of the Campbell City Hall building, he proudly displays a framed newspaper article about his father's police work and his father's police badge. The article is about a successful police chase in which his father participated while serving with the SJPD.
"I always thought police work was pretty interesting," he says. "I thought it was exciting."
Chief of Police
Gullo joined the CPD in 1976 as a police cadet. He was 15 years old.
In 1980, he was hired as a full-time CPD police officer.
From there, Gullo worked his way to the top-from officer, to agent, to sergeant, to lieutenant, to captain-and finally, in 1996, former Campbell City Manager Mark Ochenduszko appointed Gullo to serve as the CPD's chief of police.
Lockwood, who worked for the CPD for 32 years, remembers how early in his career, Gullo--as a candidate for the police explorer program--demonstrated his ability to successfully complete difficult jobs and take on complex tasks.
Lockwood jokes that while serving with Gullo, he learned to accept Gullo's somewhat compulsive work habit of "dusting, polishing and organizing." "Throughout my career and my years in administration, he was very loyal and supportive of our efforts to serve the Campbell community. It was clear that he aspired to command-level positions and he eventually accomplished his goals," Lockwood says. "His enthusiasm was evident to all the members of the department because he had a police scanner in his car and showed up at accident scenes and was very good at laying out flare patterns."
"Personally, I'm very proud of his accomplishments and his position as chief of the department. To this day he remains a good friend to all those who worked in the department with him."
Campbell Mayor Jeanette Watson, who has known Gullo his whole life, says he's well-respected by city officials and the public because he's intensely loyal to the city and the police department. "Police work has been his life. He truly enjoys it and wants to do the best job he can," Watson says.
Campbell City Manager Bernie Strojny, who joined the city in November of 1996-a few months after Gullo had been appointed chief of police-says David is an outstanding police chief who has an excellent relationship with all city officials.
"He's very sensitive to the needs of the community and works closely with all of the personnel in the police department to ensure that quality services are provided to the public," Strojny says.
When Strojny met Gullo five years ago, they were both beginning new jobs. They met frequently and developed a strong rapport that has been the key to their good working relationship. Gullo immediately involved Strojny with his police captains on various projects they were working on.
"Our police officers are very proactive and take initiative to deal with issues as they come upon them in the field. That's a reflection of David's management style," Strojny added.
Gullo attended West Valley Junior College and San Jose State University, receiving a bachelor's degree in criminal justice. In 1993 he attended the FBI National Academy in Virginia, taking its three-month management course. There, Gullo met officers from throughout the United States learning ethics, legal police management issues and new trends in law enforcement. He was particularly interested in the behavioral sciences, profiling and understanding criminal behavior.
Gullo currently teaches criminal justice in the San Jose State University program "Criminal Justice Bureau," which is specifically designed for police officers who have been in the field for a significant amount of time. He teaches officers how to better perform their jobs as they enter the field of child sexual assault and child abuse investigation. At Evergreen Community College, he teaches a criminal justice course for police officers moving into supervisory positions. He also teaches police management at the Humboldt State University extension program in Sacramento.
Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer
Top Cop: David L. Gullo, who's lived in Campbell since he was a small boy, joined the Campbell Police Department as a 15-year-old cadet in 1976.
The CPD
Gullo oversees 50 sworn full-time police officers and a total of 113 employees in the CPD, including volunteer reservists, crossing guards, record specialists and dispatchers. Gullo praises the city council and the city manager for their support of the police department.
The department has three divisions: field services, special enforcement (investigations and traffic), and support services such as communications and records. The primary amount of police officers work in field services with four sergeants, four agents and 20 officers. Under the special enforcement division, the department has investigators, the drug abuse resistance education (DARE) program and a traffic enforcement unit.
In support services are most of the department's civilian personnel, such as dispatchers.
"The success of this police department is based solely on the information we receive from the public-our customer-coupled with our employees' ability to deliver excellent services," Gullo says. "That's our goal. Alone, the police department would fail. Without the public's support, we wouldn't be able to do our jobs. We have great employees and I'm very lucky, but the thing that stands out the most is how wonderful the community support is. I'm very lucky. It's a great relationship."
Gullo says he tries to run the department like a business and give department employees the power and tools necessary to do their jobs well, involving them in every decision that's made.
And unlike other police departments, which don't always enjoy a good relationship with their city government, the CPD claims it has a good working relationship with Campbell officials and department heads.
Gullo also says he's organized the department so that it works well with various agencies in the county-such as the district attorney's office, the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office, and California Highway Patrol-and area police officials-such as SJPD Chief of Police William M. Lansdowne and Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Chief Larry Todd.
Recently the CPD has become involved in Silicon Valley Animal Control Authority and has started a program on emergency preparedness.
The CPD has also worked hard to successfully manage Campbell's fire contract with the Santa Clara County Fire Department (SCCFD), which works as the city's fire department. There are two fire stations in Campbell staffed by SCCFD personnel. The city used to have a fire department, but because of the growth cost of fire services, city officials decided to contract the services with the SCCFD, Gullo explains.
Difficulties of the job
Every day when he leaves his office, there are things Gullo wishes he had handled differently. "We try to do the best we can, but we're not perfect. Law enforcement is not perfect," he admits.
Gullo thinks that sometimes the public doesn't fully comprehend the difficulty of police work. He says his department is trying to explain to the public the complexities of law enforcement.
"Frequently we ask very young people who are 21 years old with some training to make life-and-death decisions and decide which amount of force is appropriate. It's a very hard decision. It's hard for this job not to get to you. Sometimes we get upset or short, and it doesn't mean it's right. This is just a hard job to do every day when you're facing negativity. I want our customer to have a better understanding of that. We haven't been very open about how hard this job is. We want people to think we can be successful, but we're going to make mistakes, like any other job. We'll never be a perfect organization," he says.
Gullo says, "It's an interesting paradigm when there's conflict. Some people ask, 'Why did the officer do that?' But that's what they're paying him ... to do. [He's] being paid to use pepper spray, a nightstick and a firearm. There aren't a lot of force choices that he has. He has to use those things."
The CPD works hard to monitor its officers closely for burnout and gives them counseling, training, help and guidance because of the difficulties of the job. "Anybody who puts in 20 years in this job is a success story. They're a valuable resource and we want them to stay."
Gullo promises to remain with the CPD until he retires, which he says will be at age 50--in seven years.
Lockwood says you don't dwell on the difficulties of the job. "We work to protect and to serve. It's not that complicated. How you go about satisfying those two goals provides many choices, and David has done a good job at making those selections."
Next week: The CPD Crime Statistics Annual Report and an analysis of crime in Campbell.
Campbell, California
