February 7, 2023 • 17 mins
Chancellor May sits down with UC Davis Police Chief Joe Farrow to talk about policing and how UC Davis is leading the way toward a more contemporary, community policing model to keep the campus safe. The chief is also doing important work around the topic of mental health and policing and is currently serving as president on the board of directors for the California chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:02):
Hi, everyone.
Welcome to “Face to Face,” a UC Davis podcast
featuring students, staff and faculty innovators.
I’m your host, Chancellor Gary May.
Stay tuned for my next guest.
Hi, my name is Joe Farrow.
I was born and raised in Tokyo,
Japan, where I lived for the first
10 years of my life.
(00:24):
Our family moved to Monterey,
California, when I was going into
the fifth grade.
I enjoyed a really nice life
in Monterey, where I learned to play
golf. I was actually a flat track
racer and even started my
career in law enforcement with the
local police department there in the
city of Pacific Grove.
I've been with UC Davis since August
of 2017, after spending
30 years with the California Highway
(00:45):
Patrol — my last 10 as the
commissioner.
I enjoy working at UC Davis
Police Department, surrounded by so
many who share my desire to keep
our community safe.
I love doing what I do, but my
true passion has always been around
the topic of mental illness.
I currently serve as the president
of the National Alliance on Mental
(01:05):
Illness, where I strive to build
a better community discussion around
mental health and police response
to mental illness.
I enjoy the work I do at UC Davis,
transforming our campus policing
model to a more contemporary,
needs-response model, as we
acknowledge the ongoing dialogue
both locally and nationally.
(01:28):
Welcome to"Face to Face," Joe.
I've been lookingforward to this,
and thank you forsitting down and
talking with me.
Thank you for the invitation.
I've been looking forward to it
equally as well.
Yeah. You know, we actually
started at UC Davis the same time,
same year.
So you've been police chief now here
for five years.
This is year number six.
I want to first just say how much we
appreciate all your leadership and
(01:48):
the way you keep the campus
safe —
and do what you do for the community
as well. Now, before you
came to UC Davis, you were
commissioner of the California
Highway Patrol.
It's one of the nation's largest
law enforcement agencies.
What made somebody like you want to
come to a university like UC Davis?
(02:10):
That's a really good question.
First of all, thank you.
It is an honor and a privilege to
serve the university.
It was a dream come true
for me when I was ending my career
with the California Highway Patrol.
I was looking for something that I
could do to make a contribution,
something with all the lessons
learned and the experiences I had
with CHP — where could I apply it
the best.
And a friend of mine, a mutual
friend of ours who used to be chief
(02:31):
counsel here, called me one day and
said, have you ever thought about
coming to the University of
California?
And he planted the seed.
And from there I started doing a lot
of research. I started to figure out
what the university setting was all
about and what your mission was.
And I realized at that time that
that ongoing conversation about
reimagining policing was becoming
very real.
It was prominent, and it was really
(02:51):
time to bring contemporary
standards into a university setting
and really set the stage and lead.
And as I started to go through my
process of onboarding, and
I started to learn a lot about this
university and really — and not
just because you're sitting here —
it all ended with a conversation
with you. Your last day at Georgia
Tech, my first day here, and we had
a conversation about can you
(03:12):
change the dialogue?
Can you change the discussion about
policing?
And to me, that was a calling.
It was a challenge.
And I thought that if not
me, then who?
And I thought I would be the person
to be able to do that.
And the rest of it was just —
let's get there, let's get to work.
And I've never looked back.
I remember that phone call very
well. As you said, it was my last
day, I think, at Georgia Tech.
(03:33):
And I really wanted to talk
to you about this idea of community
policing versus the traditional
command-and-control model that
people are familiar with.
And your answer really gave me —
it was really heartening.
It really gave me some positive
vibes. And I guess I should
send the friend that put the bug in
your ear a thank-you note, because
the whole campus has really
(03:53):
benefited from your experience here,
Joe. So I just want to make that
clear to our audience.
Thank you very much.
We also talk a lot about diversity
at UC Davis in general but in
the police force in particular.
So you championed a new state law
that just went into effect that
allows anyone legally authorized
to work in the U.S.
to become a peace officer,
(04:15):
regardless of their citizenship
status. So
tell me how that will make a
difference for us locally here at UC
Davis and perhaps more broadly in
the state for police
forces.
Yeah, thank you.
Thank you very much for the
opportunity to run that bill.
As you know, to run a bill on behalf
of the university and the Office of
the President, you need approval to
be able to do that. And you were the
first one to step out and believed
(04:35):
in that and allowed me to run with
that bill.
But really what it'll do is allow
any person in California, regardless
of status, to be able
to become a police officer in
California as long as they have work
authorization from the federal
government. And so what that means
to us here that I learned when I
first got here is we have several
students that work for us as Aggie
hosts. They work at the front
(04:56):
counter. They do jobs for us, the
police department, who are
undocumented.
And they found really a desire
to become police officers to serve
their community after they graduate.
But there was a roadblock.
The law at the time said that you
had to be a United States citizen.
And I simply out loud asked the
question — and really wanted to have
a debate at a statewide, national
(05:16):
level — is why?
Because in California, you can hold
almost every position in California,
regardless of citizenship.
And I thought, why not policing?
And so the debate as it
made its way through the Legislature,
we found across the aisle
support for that bill where people
all said the same thing (05:32):
Why do we
have that standard? It seems to be
obsolete.
And that was removed.
Governor Newsom signed that bill
into law in September.
And now the law lets, really, any
community member here on our campus
who desires to be a police officer —
we would like to entertain that
because, really, what we're trying
to do at the end of the day is
reflect our community.
And undocumented students on our
campus are part of our community.
(05:53):
And what a better way to serve.
Absolutely. I think both of us have
been advocating for undocumented
students
since we've been here and probably
longer than that.
In a similar vein, you and
I both as men of color, have been
vocal about standing up
against hate speech.
Why do you think that's important in
your position?
(06:14):
And
what do we do?
How do we best denounce hate speech
when we see it exhibited
by others?
Yeah, you know, I tell you, if we
could solve that here today,
then, you know, we're doing really,
really well. And it's unfortunate
that we live in a world that we
don't always understand.
We don't always appreciate it.
And there is evil.
(06:34):
There's hatred in this world.
And I think our position in the
roles that we have, one is to be
accountable, to stand up and
denounce it when we see it.
Call it what it is.
There isn't anything in between.
Right? The water's either really hot
or it's really cold.
And it's not — this is one of those
issues you have to face it.
And I appreciate the fact that this
university allows me sometimes to
(06:55):
be outspoken.
And normally in police departments,
you remain a little bit more
apolitical. You kind of hold
the line, and you don't step out.
This university, they
don't demand it, but you expect your
leaders to stand up and be
accountable. So one of the things
that I enjoy most is I can do that.
And when I see it, not as much as
you do, but when I see it, I think
that we have to call it out, because
(07:16):
it resonates with people.
And you, sir, in the article I wrote
recently, "A Contrast of Two
Chancellors," I meant that.
I meant it as the fact that I
get to sit down every single day
and watch our chancellor step out
and hold the line on what he
believes to be inappropriate
behavior. People have crossed the
line, and you call it out.
And you take hits for that
sometimes, you know — people will.
(07:39):
And I understand that.
But you use your analogy, you
got to be bold sometimes.
So you have allowed your directors
and others to do the same thing.
And I'll equally try to do the same
thing and call it out.
And I think that's what we do from
that. People see it.
They hear it. We train.
We educate.
And little by little, I think we're
making a huge difference.
And I think people that come to UC
Davis know we simply don't tolerate
(08:00):
hate speech. We don't allow it.
We don't appreciate it.
And there's — we have no use for
that on our campus.
I agree.
You know, I'm happy to be at a place
that allows me to take those
stances, and I want to make sure
that I know that everyone who works
with me and for me knows that they
can also be vocal in
those aspects.
Another unique thing about you,
(08:22):
you were elected president of the
board of directors of the California
branch of the National Alliance on
Mental Illness (NAMI).
So you're one of the first law
enforcement officers, I think, to
serve on that board. ... Correct. ...
So I know it's an interest and
a passion of yours.
So tell me about your work with NAMI
and the intersection between that
work in law enforcement and mental
health.
(08:42):
Yeah, for those that don't know,
NAMI is a national organization with
a California chapter, really
for the purpose of advocating for
those suffering from mental illness
and their families — trying to
remove the stigma and just make a
better life for people suffering
from mental illness.
And as being a police officer, you
know, I was very, very interested
in the response to critical incident
response by policing.
(09:03):
And I found my way onto the board.
And from the board I ascended up to
the presidency.
So I am the first law enforcement
officer ever to serve as the
president.
And I think that's really important
because as we have the dialogue
about, how do we handle crisis
intervention — either on a campus or
anywhere in law enforcement — how do
you do that?
And there's certainly many examples
illustrating that we don't always
(09:24):
get it right, currently.
Sometimes the mere presence of a
police officer can escalate rather
than de-escalate situations.
And so NAMI works very closely with
law enforcement and groups to figure
out a better way.
Right here on our campus, we're
imagining a better way by using
our fire department, using our
paramedics, using counseling
services, replacing
(09:44):
the officer in the critical incident
with health practitioners who
specialize in this, where the
officers would stand ready just in
case things go really, really bad,
and you need them.
You certainly don't want people to
go into a violent situation,
but we are paving the way to
something better.
And NAMI advocates
that. They provide training for
(10:05):
that. They provide policies for
that.
And it also allows me from this
platform not just to be —
restrict our efforts here at UC
Davis, but systemwide
throughout the entire system to
CSUs and through all themunicipalities
that are learning how we're kind of
changing the narrative.
Yeah, we've really been on a journey
here at UC Davis to reimagine
(10:25):
policing and campus safety.
As you mentioned, we had a whole
yearlong task force
devoted to those activities.
And tell me what you think about
the outcome of that process
and where you see the future
of policing, both on
campuses but even more broadly.
Yeah, I think that
all of us in our careers, we end up
(10:45):
on task forces, and we go to town
hall meetings, and people start
talking about how we're going to
make substantial change.
And sometimes the programs go
off, and sometimes they don't.
This one, I think, though, has
been well thought out.
It was participated well with a
lot of interaction, a lot of
involvement, a lot of collaboration —
and not just the one we did here at
(11:06):
Davis, but also the one we did
almost simultaneously with the
Office of the President.
We came up with dozens of
recommendations to try to transform
a good police department in
something better, more contemporary,
and somebody that really could earn
the title of being role model.
And I think we set our sights for
that. And I think there's been
challenges. One, as you change
(11:27):
culture of policing, which you
don't do by a policy or procedure or
training, you change culture in many
different ways — but also at the
same time educate our own
institution and our communities on
how we are changing and how we're
different.
Certainly the narrative of policing
across America is not always good.
It's just not.
And we can, you and I can sit here
(11:47):
and fill this table with a list of
things we've seen that we don't
understand, and we don't appreciate
— and so can our community
members.
And I think that what we have tried
to do is change
the narrative here, and have people
look at what we do and how we're
different and how we approach law
enforcement more from the mindset
of — I hate to use the cliche of
(12:07):
"guardian," but that's exactly what
it is. We're not here — nobody wants
to be policed.
We don't police people on campus.
And sometimes I wonder if police is
the right word that we use, because
it's not really what we do.
We here provide safety,
security, a peace of mind, and
also physical, to make sure that
everyone that comes here can take in
the full range of opportunities
(12:28):
fairly, equally across the board
— and, really stay, out of people's
way until they need us.
And so that's the cultural change.
And I think that that's happening
very quickly on campus — still
work to be done, but
I think we're a lot further down the
road than we were a couple of years
ago. And I think within the
next two years, you're going to see
— I think we're going to be the
state of the art. I certainly
(12:48):
believe we're going to be able to
set some pretty high marks.
That's really well stated, Joe.
And I know that because of your
experience with CHP and
your leadership, you're viewed,
you're so well respected in the
community of police
within the system and beyond.
So you're really called upon for
your points of view, and
(13:10):
you're a leader among the
chiefs in the system.
How do you feel about that
responsibility?
Does that weigh heavily on you, or
do you enjoy it, or how is that?
It is a lot of work.
You know, I always hold true to
my alma mater, which is going to be
— although I didn't graduate from, I
say alma mater. This is my home.
I'm a UC Davis Aggie.
And everything I do is all
(13:31):
in here at UC Davis.
But it's also at the same time an
opportunity to lead.
It's an opportunity to change
the narrative with some of the other
campuses.
And it's not that I teach.
It's that we work collaboratively.
We try to learn from one another.
We try to learn best practices.
We try to develop policies that are
very contemporary.
We are, though, leading the charge
(13:52):
of trying to achieve
accreditation for all the campuses.
As you well know, it was us and San
Francisco that came out first.
The other eight are following.
But it's also an opportunity to
introduce to them the state
of the art, the only one in
California, the Police
Accountability Board.
That is foreign.
That is not done in California.
(14:13):
And now here we are through your
leadership and President Drake,
we're introducing police
accountability boards across the
system.
And that is certainly going to be
a role model, and you're going to
certainly see other departments
take that on in the very, very near
future.
So I think that, you know, while
time consuming for some of these
jobs, and you know the requests that
come in. They always call you first,
(14:34):
and they ask.
But I think that's what these
universities are about — is
teaching.
It's what we're all about.
And so I go about teaching in a
different way.
But at the same time, the premise is
the same — is to make it better.
And so I'm honored to be able to do
that.
Well you certainly have made it
better for the university system
in this area of campus safety.
(14:55):
I'm going to do something a littlemore fun
here.
I want to change gears and
play a game we call "Hot Seat."
You've been on hot seats before.
... Yes. ... But this one's a little
different. I'm going to just ask you
some rapid-fire questions.
And we're looking for a one-word or
one-sentence short answer.
So here we go. Ready?
... Ok. ...
Time for a vacation.
Mountains or beach?
Beach.
(15:15):
Best spot to grab lunch on campus.
On campus? One of the dining
commons.
They're all good.
They are good.
Dog or cat person?
Dog.
Who is your biggest inspiration?
My biggest inspiration.
Muhammad Ali.
Interesting.
One of my heroes as well.
Favorite hobby?
Golf.
Golf.
OK, great.
(15:37):
You actually followed directions.
Most people don't give me the
one-word answers. They have to think
about it.
Anyway, so thanks for letting me put
you on the spot. Now it's your turn
to ask me a question.
You can ask me anything.
Yeah. You know, I
would like to ask you a question.
I see you every day.
I see you work.
Every Monday morning I have the
privilege of listening to your
weekly schedule.
(15:57):
And I always sit there going, OK, I
walked into this room thinking, I
have a busy week.
Then I hear yours.
I feel much better.
I feel much better every single
morning because I don't have your
schedule. And it starts — for those
that don't know — it starts very
early in the morning, and many
times, many times you're concluding
events at 10 o'clock at night.
And it's not Monday through Friday.
And a lot of times it's at least
Monday through Saturday.
(16:18):
And about twice a month you get
Sunday off.
So what does Gary May do when he
gets away from the university?
When you're away from the
university, and you have a chance to
relax, what's life
for Gary May and LeShelle and the
family?
Well, you hit it right there.
The most cherished time I have is
with my family. So whenever I can,
I want to spend time with my wife,
LeShelle, and with my girls.
(16:39):
They don't live here, so it's harder
to make that time.
And then for hobbies, you know, I
like to read, and I try to stay fit.
So I go to the ARC, and I run, and I
try to work out. So those are
also therapeutic for me — clear my
mind from all the stress from all
those meetings that you just alluded
to.
So those are the kind of things that
I like to do, but family's most
important. It's paramount.
So anyway,
(17:00):
thank you for being here.
This has been a really stimulating,
thought-provoking conversation.
Thanks to everyone for listening.
Tune in next time on “Face to Face.”Go, Ags!
Hi, everyone.
Welcome to “Face to Face,” a UC Davis podcast
featuring students, staff and faculty innovators.
I’m your host, Chancellor Gary May.
Stay tuned for my next guest.
Hi, my name is Joe Farrow.
I was born and raised in Tokyo,
Japan, where I lived for the first
10 years of my life.
(00:24):
Our family moved to Monterey,
California, when I was going into
the fifth grade.
I enjoyed a really nice life
in Monterey, where I learned to play
golf. I was actually a flat track
racer and even started my
career in law enforcement with the
local police department there in the
city of Pacific Grove.
I've been with UC Davis since August
of 2017, after spending
30 years with the California Highway
(00:45):
Patrol — my last 10 as the
commissioner.
I enjoy working at UC Davis
Police Department, surrounded by so
many who share my desire to keep
our community safe.
I love doing what I do, but my
true passion has always been around
the topic of mental illness.
I currently serve as the president
of the National Alliance on Mental
(01:05):
Illness, where I strive to build
a better community discussion around
mental health and police response
to mental illness.
I enjoy the work I do at UC Davis,
transforming our campus policing
model to a more contemporary,
needs-response model, as we
acknowledge the ongoing dialogue
both locally and nationally.
(01:28):
Welcome to"Face to Face," Joe.
I've been lookingforward to this,
and thank you forsitting down and
talking with me.
Thank you for the invitation.
I've been looking forward to it
equally as well.
Yeah. You know, we actually
started at UC Davis the same time,
same year.
So you've been police chief now here
for five years.
This is year number six.
I want to first just say how much we
appreciate all your leadership and
(01:48):
the way you keep the campus
safe —
and do what you do for the community
as well. Now, before you
came to UC Davis, you were
commissioner of the California
Highway Patrol.
It's one of the nation's largest
law enforcement agencies.
What made somebody like you want to
come to a university like UC Davis?
(02:10):
That's a really good question.
First of all, thank you.
It is an honor and a privilege to
serve the university.
It was a dream come true
for me when I was ending my career
with the California Highway Patrol.
I was looking for something that I
could do to make a contribution,
something with all the lessons
learned and the experiences I had
with CHP — where could I apply it
the best.
And a friend of mine, a mutual
friend of ours who used to be chief
(02:31):
counsel here, called me one day and
said, have you ever thought about
coming to the University of
California?
And he planted the seed.
And from there I started doing a lot
of research. I started to figure out
what the university setting was all
about and what your mission was.
And I realized at that time that
that ongoing conversation about
reimagining policing was becoming
very real.
It was prominent, and it was really
(02:51):
time to bring contemporary
standards into a university setting
and really set the stage and lead.
And as I started to go through my
process of onboarding, and
I started to learn a lot about this
university and really — and not
just because you're sitting here —
it all ended with a conversation
with you. Your last day at Georgia
Tech, my first day here, and we had
a conversation about can you
(03:12):
change the dialogue?
Can you change the discussion about
policing?
And to me, that was a calling.
It was a challenge.
And I thought that if not
me, then who?
And I thought I would be the person
to be able to do that.
And the rest of it was just —
let's get there, let's get to work.
And I've never looked back.
I remember that phone call very
well. As you said, it was my last
day, I think, at Georgia Tech.
(03:33):
And I really wanted to talk
to you about this idea of community
policing versus the traditional
command-and-control model that
people are familiar with.
And your answer really gave me —
it was really heartening.
It really gave me some positive
vibes. And I guess I should
send the friend that put the bug in
your ear a thank-you note, because
the whole campus has really
(03:53):
benefited from your experience here,
Joe. So I just want to make that
clear to our audience.
Thank you very much.
We also talk a lot about diversity
at UC Davis in general but in
the police force in particular.
So you championed a new state law
that just went into effect that
allows anyone legally authorized
to work in the U.S.
to become a peace officer,
(04:15):
regardless of their citizenship
status. So
tell me how that will make a
difference for us locally here at UC
Davis and perhaps more broadly in
the state for police
forces.
Yeah, thank you.
Thank you very much for the
opportunity to run that bill.
As you know, to run a bill on behalf
of the university and the Office of
the President, you need approval to
be able to do that. And you were the
first one to step out and believed
(04:35):
in that and allowed me to run with
that bill.
But really what it'll do is allow
any person in California, regardless
of status, to be able
to become a police officer in
California as long as they have work
authorization from the federal
government. And so what that means
to us here that I learned when I
first got here is we have several
students that work for us as Aggie
hosts. They work at the front
(04:56):
counter. They do jobs for us, the
police department, who are
undocumented.
And they found really a desire
to become police officers to serve
their community after they graduate.
But there was a roadblock.
The law at the time said that you
had to be a United States citizen.
And I simply out loud asked the
question — and really wanted to have
a debate at a statewide, national
(05:16):
level — is why?
Because in California, you can hold
almost every position in California,
regardless of citizenship.
And I thought, why not policing?
And so the debate as it
made its way through the Legislature,
we found across the aisle
support for that bill where people
all said the same thing (05:32):
Why do we
have that standard? It seems to be
obsolete.
And that was removed.
Governor Newsom signed that bill
into law in September.
And now the law lets, really, any
community member here on our campus
who desires to be a police officer —
we would like to entertain that
because, really, what we're trying
to do at the end of the day is
reflect our community.
And undocumented students on our
campus are part of our community.
(05:53):
And what a better way to serve.
Absolutely. I think both of us have
been advocating for undocumented
students
since we've been here and probably
longer than that.
In a similar vein, you and
I both as men of color, have been
vocal about standing up
against hate speech.
Why do you think that's important in
your position?
(06:14):
And
what do we do?
How do we best denounce hate speech
when we see it exhibited
by others?
Yeah, you know, I tell you, if we
could solve that here today,
then, you know, we're doing really,
really well. And it's unfortunate
that we live in a world that we
don't always understand.
We don't always appreciate it.
And there is evil.
(06:34):
There's hatred in this world.
And I think our position in the
roles that we have, one is to be
accountable, to stand up and
denounce it when we see it.
Call it what it is.
There isn't anything in between.
Right? The water's either really hot
or it's really cold.
And it's not — this is one of those
issues you have to face it.
And I appreciate the fact that this
university allows me sometimes to
(06:55):
be outspoken.
And normally in police departments,
you remain a little bit more
apolitical. You kind of hold
the line, and you don't step out.
This university, they
don't demand it, but you expect your
leaders to stand up and be
accountable. So one of the things
that I enjoy most is I can do that.
And when I see it, not as much as
you do, but when I see it, I think
that we have to call it out, because
(07:16):
it resonates with people.
And you, sir, in the article I wrote
recently, "A Contrast of Two
Chancellors," I meant that.
I meant it as the fact that I
get to sit down every single day
and watch our chancellor step out
and hold the line on what he
believes to be inappropriate
behavior. People have crossed the
line, and you call it out.
And you take hits for that
sometimes, you know — people will.
(07:39):
And I understand that.
But you use your analogy, you
got to be bold sometimes.
So you have allowed your directors
and others to do the same thing.
And I'll equally try to do the same
thing and call it out.
And I think that's what we do from
that. People see it.
They hear it. We train.
We educate.
And little by little, I think we're
making a huge difference.
And I think people that come to UC
Davis know we simply don't tolerate
(08:00):
hate speech. We don't allow it.
We don't appreciate it.
And there's — we have no use for
that on our campus.
I agree.
You know, I'm happy to be at a place
that allows me to take those
stances, and I want to make sure
that I know that everyone who works
with me and for me knows that they
can also be vocal in
those aspects.
Another unique thing about you,
(08:22):
you were elected president of the
board of directors of the California
branch of the National Alliance on
Mental Illness (NAMI).
So you're one of the first law
enforcement officers, I think, to
serve on that board. ... Correct. ...
So I know it's an interest and
a passion of yours.
So tell me about your work with NAMI
and the intersection between that
work in law enforcement and mental
health.
(08:42):
Yeah, for those that don't know,
NAMI is a national organization with
a California chapter, really
for the purpose of advocating for
those suffering from mental illness
and their families — trying to
remove the stigma and just make a
better life for people suffering
from mental illness.
And as being a police officer, you
know, I was very, very interested
in the response to critical incident
response by policing.
(09:03):
And I found my way onto the board.
And from the board I ascended up to
the presidency.
So I am the first law enforcement
officer ever to serve as the
president.
And I think that's really important
because as we have the dialogue
about, how do we handle crisis
intervention — either on a campus or
anywhere in law enforcement — how do
you do that?
And there's certainly many examples
illustrating that we don't always
(09:24):
get it right, currently.
Sometimes the mere presence of a
police officer can escalate rather
than de-escalate situations.
And so NAMI works very closely with
law enforcement and groups to figure
out a better way.
Right here on our campus, we're
imagining a better way by using
our fire department, using our
paramedics, using counseling
services, replacing
(09:44):
the officer in the critical incident
with health practitioners who
specialize in this, where the
officers would stand ready just in
case things go really, really bad,
and you need them.
You certainly don't want people to
go into a violent situation,
but we are paving the way to
something better.
And NAMI advocates
that. They provide training for
(10:05):
that. They provide policies for
that.
And it also allows me from this
platform not just to be —
restrict our efforts here at UC
Davis, but systemwide
throughout the entire system to
CSUs and through all themunicipalities
that are learning how we're kind of
changing the narrative.
Yeah, we've really been on a journey
here at UC Davis to reimagine
(10:25):
policing and campus safety.
As you mentioned, we had a whole
yearlong task force
devoted to those activities.
And tell me what you think about
the outcome of that process
and where you see the future
of policing, both on
campuses but even more broadly.
Yeah, I think that
all of us in our careers, we end up
(10:45):
on task forces, and we go to town
hall meetings, and people start
talking about how we're going to
make substantial change.
And sometimes the programs go
off, and sometimes they don't.
This one, I think, though, has
been well thought out.
It was participated well with a
lot of interaction, a lot of
involvement, a lot of collaboration —
and not just the one we did here at
(11:06):
Davis, but also the one we did
almost simultaneously with the
Office of the President.
We came up with dozens of
recommendations to try to transform
a good police department in
something better, more contemporary,
and somebody that really could earn
the title of being role model.
And I think we set our sights for
that. And I think there's been
challenges. One, as you change
(11:27):
culture of policing, which you
don't do by a policy or procedure or
training, you change culture in many
different ways — but also at the
same time educate our own
institution and our communities on
how we are changing and how we're
different.
Certainly the narrative of policing
across America is not always good.
It's just not.
And we can, you and I can sit here
(11:47):
and fill this table with a list of
things we've seen that we don't
understand, and we don't appreciate
— and so can our community
members.
And I think that what we have tried
to do is change
the narrative here, and have people
look at what we do and how we're
different and how we approach law
enforcement more from the mindset
of — I hate to use the cliche of
(12:07):
"guardian," but that's exactly what
it is. We're not here — nobody wants
to be policed.
We don't police people on campus.
And sometimes I wonder if police is
the right word that we use, because
it's not really what we do.
We here provide safety,
security, a peace of mind, and
also physical, to make sure that
everyone that comes here can take in
the full range of opportunities
(12:28):
fairly, equally across the board
— and, really stay, out of people's
way until they need us.
And so that's the cultural change.
And I think that that's happening
very quickly on campus — still
work to be done, but
I think we're a lot further down the
road than we were a couple of years
ago. And I think within the
next two years, you're going to see
— I think we're going to be the
state of the art. I certainly
(12:48):
believe we're going to be able to
set some pretty high marks.
That's really well stated, Joe.
And I know that because of your
experience with CHP and
your leadership, you're viewed,
you're so well respected in the
community of police
within the system and beyond.
So you're really called upon for
your points of view, and
(13:10):
you're a leader among the
chiefs in the system.
How do you feel about that
responsibility?
Does that weigh heavily on you, or
do you enjoy it, or how is that?
It is a lot of work.
You know, I always hold true to
my alma mater, which is going to be
— although I didn't graduate from, I
say alma mater. This is my home.
I'm a UC Davis Aggie.
And everything I do is all
(13:31):
in here at UC Davis.
But it's also at the same time an
opportunity to lead.
It's an opportunity to change
the narrative with some of the other
campuses.
And it's not that I teach.
It's that we work collaboratively.
We try to learn from one another.
We try to learn best practices.
We try to develop policies that are
very contemporary.
We are, though, leading the charge
(13:52):
of trying to achieve
accreditation for all the campuses.
As you well know, it was us and San
Francisco that came out first.
The other eight are following.
But it's also an opportunity to
introduce to them the state
of the art, the only one in
California, the Police
Accountability Board.
That is foreign.
That is not done in California.
(14:13):
And now here we are through your
leadership and President Drake,
we're introducing police
accountability boards across the
system.
And that is certainly going to be
a role model, and you're going to
certainly see other departments
take that on in the very, very near
future.
So I think that, you know, while
time consuming for some of these
jobs, and you know the requests that
come in. They always call you first,
(14:34):
and they ask.
But I think that's what these
universities are about — is
teaching.
It's what we're all about.
And so I go about teaching in a
different way.
But at the same time, the premise is
the same — is to make it better.
And so I'm honored to be able to do
that.
Well you certainly have made it
better for the university system
in this area of campus safety.
(14:55):
I'm going to do something a littlemore fun
here.
I want to change gears and
play a game we call "Hot Seat."
You've been on hot seats before.
... Yes. ... But this one's a little
different. I'm going to just ask you
some rapid-fire questions.
And we're looking for a one-word or
one-sentence short answer.
So here we go. Ready?
... Ok. ...
Time for a vacation.
Mountains or beach?
Beach.
(15:15):
Best spot to grab lunch on campus.
On campus? One of the dining
commons.
They're all good.
They are good.
Dog or cat person?
Dog.
Who is your biggest inspiration?
My biggest inspiration.
Muhammad Ali.
Interesting.
One of my heroes as well.
Favorite hobby?
Golf.
Golf.
OK, great.
(15:37):
You actually followed directions.
Most people don't give me the
one-word answers. They have to think
about it.
Anyway, so thanks for letting me put
you on the spot. Now it's your turn
to ask me a question.
You can ask me anything.
Yeah. You know, I
would like to ask you a question.
I see you every day.
I see you work.
Every Monday morning I have the
privilege of listening to your
weekly schedule.
(15:57):
And I always sit there going, OK, I
walked into this room thinking, I
have a busy week.
Then I hear yours.
I feel much better.
I feel much better every single
morning because I don't have your
schedule. And it starts — for those
that don't know — it starts very
early in the morning, and many
times, many times you're concluding
events at 10 o'clock at night.
And it's not Monday through Friday.
And a lot of times it's at least
Monday through Saturday.
(16:18):
And about twice a month you get
Sunday off.
So what does Gary May do when he
gets away from the university?
When you're away from the
university, and you have a chance to
relax, what's life
for Gary May and LeShelle and the
family?
Well, you hit it right there.
The most cherished time I have is
with my family. So whenever I can,
I want to spend time with my wife,
LeShelle, and with my girls.
(16:39):
They don't live here, so it's harder
to make that time.
And then for hobbies, you know, I
like to read, and I try to stay fit.
So I go to the ARC, and I run, and I
try to work out. So those are
also therapeutic for me — clear my
mind from all the stress from all
those meetings that you just alluded
to.
So those are the kind of things that
I like to do, but family's most
important. It's paramount.
So anyway,
(17:00):
thank you for being here.
This has been a really stimulating,
thought-provoking conversation.
Thanks to everyone for listening.
Tune in next time on “Face to Face.”Go, Ags!
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!