Col. Frank Milstead planning to retire as Arizona DPS director

PHOENIX – After five years as Arizona’s top law enforcement official, Col. Frank Milstead is planning to retire, KTAR News 92.3 FM confirmed Saturday.

KTAR News has learned the expected replacement is DPS Deputy Director Lt. Col. Heston Silbert.

An official announcement from the governor’s office was made Monday morning. Milstead’s final day will be April 3.

Gov. Doug Ducey appointed Milstead as director of the Arizona Department of Public Safety in February 2015.

He followed in the footsteps of his father, Col. Ralph T. Milstead, who was director in the 1980s.

Before taking the top DPS job, Frank Milstead was chief of the Mesa Police Department for five years following 25 years with the Phoenix Police Department.

Silbert, who has 31 years of law enforcement experience in Arizona, also previously worked at the Phoenix and Mesa police departments.

“It is my goal to continue to lead and work with the exceptional people at the Arizona Department of Public Safety as we collectively strive to provide the most exemplary law enforcement services to all those who live in or visit our state,” Silbert said Monday in a press release.

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