Scot Smithee spent over 35 years in service to the Gilroy Police Department, retiring in October, 2020 as the Chief of Police.  

He holds a Master’s Degree in Leadership, a Bachelor’s Degree in Organizational Behavior and he is a graduate of the California Command College.

Chief Smithee started teaching as a Part time instructor in 1989 for the Police Academy at Gavilan College in Gilroy.  He was among the first group of instructors to teach when the South Bay Regional Training Consortium was created in 1994. He is best known for his instruction in Emergency Vehicle Operations and sits on several State of California Committees as a subject matter expert. He has also spent over 25 years teaching leadership professionalism and ethics courses.

In 2004, the U.S. Coast Guard presented its highest lifesaving medal, the Gold Lifesaving Award, to then Captain Smithee, who single-handedly rescued seven people from beneath an overturned catamaran in Hawaii. He received the Carnegie medal for heroism and numerous other recognitions.  His story was recreated for television on the Discovery Channels True Heroes series.

Chief Smithee led his Department and community through a very traumatic event involving an active shooter at the Gilroy Garlic Festival where three people lost their lives and 18 others were shot. Chief Smithee is extremely proud of the Gilroy Police Departments’ staff that responded to this traumatic event by acting quickly, decisively and courageously. He loves Gilroy and is inspired by how united the community became to work through the healing process.