Press release:
Swearing-In Ceremony for Roy L. Meisner, Berkeley's New Police Chief

Berkeley, California (Monday, April 7, 2003) – Roy L. Meisner will be sworn in as the City of Berkeley’s new Chief of Police on Tuesday, April 8, 2003 at 2pm. The ceremony will take place on the steps of the Ronald Tsukamoto Public Safety Building, located at 2100 Martin Luther King, Jr., Way. A reception will follow in the Multipurpose Room on the first floor of the Public Safety Building.

Meisner was chosen as the top candidate for the position after an extensive national recruitment and interview process. The Berkeley City Council unanimously approved his selection as the Chief of Police for the City of Berkeley.

Chief Meisner grew up in the Bay Area, and attended the University Of California, Berkeley, obtaining his Bachelors of Arts in Sociology in 1972. He began his career at the Berkeley Police Department the same year as a police trainee. Meisner quickly progressed through the ranks becoming a Patrol Officer (1973) Sergeant (1979), Inspector (1982) Lieutenant (1984) Captain (1990) and Deputy Chief in 1993. Meisner then took over the reins of the department as Acting Chief of Police in August 2002 when former Chief Dash Butler retired.

Among Meisner’s many professional achievements in his 31-year career at BPD has been the management of the implementation of Community Involved Policing, the expansion of the Neighborhood Watch program and authoring numerous successful grants.

When asked how he feels about his selection as the City Of Berkeley’s new Chief Of Police, Meisner said, “It is an honor to represent a group of talented BPD employees. My goal is to build strong relationships with the community.”