Mountain View Police Chief Max Bosel announces retirement next month

After 25 years serving in the Mountain View Police Department, Police Chief Max Bosel announced Friday that he will be retiring in December. He will be replaced by Deputy police Chief Chris Hsiung, the department’s second in command, immediately following his departure.

Bosel has led the department for the last six years through numerous new initiatives and policing changes, ranging from the launch of police body cameras to diversion programs that send those under the influence of drugs and alcohol to sobering centers rather than jail.

More recently, Bosel has led a department that was forced to shift gears significantly during the coronavirus pandemic, changing enforcement priorities and protecting officers from contracting COVID-19. The department has also faced scrutiny from protestors in recent months amid a nationwide push for police reform. To date, Bosel has said the department is open to changes that will improve its relationship with the community.

Bosel said it was a “bittersweet” decision to leave the department, but that the timing makes sense. He is late in his career as far as police tenure goes, and the department is in a good position with strong leadership staff that will be able to pick up where he left off. He said he is unsure about his plans after retiring on Dec. 26, but that he still has the energy to do something more.

“It’s been a dream in terms of a career for me, I have known I wanted to do this for most of my life, and I’ve been able to accomplish that and feel great about it,” Bosel said. “I have no plans to continue in the business or do security, but I do have a passion to help and contribute, so I’ll just have to figure that out.”

Bosel kicked off his career as a volunteer with the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office, and later served as a paramedic elsewhere in the Bay Area. He later rose through the ranks in the Mountain View Police Department as a patrol officer, SWAT team member and detective before serving a leadership role as a police captain. Twice, Bosel was drafted to help lead the city as an acting assistant city manager and interim city manager.

While a detective, Bosel led investigations to end organized sex-trafficking enterprises that had taken root in Mountain View. Though not a major problem today, the city in the 1990s was grappling with illicit prostitution businesses that were using storefronts or rented apartments. It required extensive investigations and work with federal agencies to shut them down, Bosel said.

In today’s digital age, many crimes are now taking place on the internet. During Bosel’s tenure as police chief, the department launched its Cyber Crime Unit. The specialized work done by the unit has helped catch stalking suspects and those in possession of child pornography, and even got involved in a case involving the hacking of the Mountain View Voice website.

But Bosel said one of his proudest achievements as police chief is the expansion of so-called community policing, making inroads with residents outside of criminal investigations and calls for service. Events like National Night Out and Coffee with a Cop, along with services like rape and assault defense training, can forge a stronger link between officers and residents, Bosel said, and make policing feel more accessible and personable.

“Policing is much more than law enforcement,” Bosel said. “It’s also about community caretaking, and it’s about working with the public we serve at all ages and all demographics. That accessibility is important.”

That kind of community building was essential in the immediate months after President Donald Trump was elected into office, which has caused waves of anxiety and fear in immigrant communities scared of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the threat of deportation. Bosel made promises at the time that the Mountain View Police Department would not work with ICE or participate in any crackdown on undocumented residents. This was long before California’s “Sanctuary State” bill, SB 54, was signed into law.

Bosel will be leaving midway through an emotionally charged debate over how to alter the Mountain View Police Department’s use-of-force policies, which launched following public unrest over the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers. Bosel was quick to condemn the officers involved in the fatal incident and took a knee during one of the Mountain View protests that followed, and repeatedly said he was open to the idea of new civilian oversight and tweaking the department’s approach to use of force. No officer-involved shootings have occurred in Mountain View in two decades — something Bosel believes is a combination of remarkable restraint on the part of officers and luck and circumstance.

Though some groups have advocated for the defunding of law enforcement, neither the department’s leadership nor the City Council have supported significant cuts to the police budget.

Deputy police Chief Chris Hsiung will replace Bosel as of Dec. 27, which is expected to be an easy transition of power. Hsiung was the department’s first ever deputy police chief, and oversaw all of the department’s day-to-day operations. Hsiung said Bosel was instrumental in sharing some of the leadership responsibilities of the department over the last year, and that it prepared him for the new job as police chief.

“It is advantageous to be able to touch every part of the department in one shape or form so you have awareness of all the working units,” Hsiung said. “So now with this gigantic transition it’s a lot less overwhelming, I think.”

Hsiung acknowledged that he’ll be leading the department during a difficult time, contending with both a global pandemic and a national discussion on policing as it relates to race, equity and justice. He said he doesn’t feel compelled to take the department into a completely new direction with regards to police reform, crediting the groundwork laid by Bosel.

“Thankfully I’m not coming in new from the outside to a department that has a lot of problems and needs a change agent,” Hsiung said. “I feel really thankful that I can kind of pick up where Max left off, which is a progressively minded department that is open to dialogue, to discourse and hearing intimately from our community.”