Goodman to lead San Bernardino PD

San Bernardino has a new chief of police.

Darren Goodman, currently Upland’s police chief, has been named head of the San Bernardino Police Department, according to a statement on the city’s website.

Goodman, who is scheduled to start work June 1, was selected following a nationwide search. He will be the first African American police chief in the department’s 116-year history.

“Chief Goodman brings to San Bernardino a wealth of experience, leadership, and knowledge of this region,” said City Manager Robert D. Field in the statement. “We are very pleased that he will be joining us.”

Goodman has been Upland’s police chief for the past four years. Before working there he spent 27 years with the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, where he became a captain. His duties included serving as Chino Hills police chief and commander of the Frank Bland Regional Training Center.

He also worked in narcotics, emergency operations, gang enforcement and special weapons and tactics [SWAT], among other assignments.

“During the early years of my career, several of my assignments were in San Bernardino,” Goodman said in the statement. “I am very familiar with the city, many community members, and the high caliber of police officers that work at the San Bernardino Police Department. I am not oblivious to the challenges the city has had in the past, but I believe in the potential of San Bernardino.”