Apache Junction replacing retiring police chief with Tempe assistant chief
Dec 12, 2021, 7:15 AM
Tempe Assistant Chief Michael Pooley, left, will succeed retiring Apache Junction Chief Thomas E. Kelly. (City of Apache Junction Photos)
(City of Apache Junction Photos)
PHOENIX – The Apache Junction Police Department is replacing its chief with a high-ranking veteran of the Tempe Police Department.
Michael Pooley was chosen to succeed Thomas E. Kelly, who is retiring after eight years as Apache Junction’s police chief and nearly 50 years in public safety, the city announced Friday.
Pooley, who spent the last two years as an assistant chief in Tempe, will take over in Apache Junction in January.
“We are so excited to see Chief Pooley join our department,” Apache Junction Mayor Chip Wilson said in a press release. “He brings two decades of experience from one of our neighboring communities that will serve him so well in leading our department.”
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Pooley spent 11 years as an officer and detective in Tempe before moving up the ranks to sergeant in 2012, lieutenant in 2014 and commander in 2016, according to the release.
His Tempe tenure included overseeing the department’s criminal investigations and special investigations bureaus and its data and technology unit.
“I believe my background and experience working for the Tempe Police Department in a variety of positions for over 20 years meets all the essential criteria for this important role,” Pooley wrote in the cover letter of his application, according to the release.
“I know I can make an effective and immediate contribution to the City of Apache Junction as Chief of Police.”
Apache Junction, which has more than 40,000 residents, is located about 35 miles east of Phoenix, past Mesa.
