Chief of Police

In March of 2021, City Manager Kim Summers swore in Chief Conrad as the department’s 7th Chief of Police since it was established in 1992. Chief Conrad held the position of interim Chief of Police since December 30, 2020.  He began his law enforcement career in 1995 as a sworn police officer with the San Diego Police Department. During his 8 years with San Diego PD, he worked at two of the department’s most active divisions and served as a Field Training Officer and a member of their Primary Response Team (SWAT).

In 2003, Chief Conrad was hired by the Murrieta Police Department and became the department’s 44th officer hired since inception. During his almost 20 years in Murrieta, Chief Conrad has been fortunate to have worked in a variety of assignments including patrol operations, investigations, narcotics and administration. He served 7 years as the Lieutenant overseeing the Murrieta SWAT team and was working as the department’s Operations Captain at the time of his appointment to Chief.

Chief Conrad graduated from San Diego State University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management in 1995. He holds a Master’s Degree from Azusa Pacific University in Organizational Leadership (2006) and attended the Senior Management Institute for Police at Boston University in 2017. Chief Conrad and his wife Dana have lived in the Murrieta / Temecula Valley for the past 29 years.  His wife has worked as a teacher for the Murrieta Valley School District for the last 20 years and they raised their only child, AJ, in Murrieta.

In 2021, Chief Conrad led the department through a new partnership with the Menifee Police Department. As a result, Murrieta’s Communication Center now dispatches all radio calls for the newly formed Menifee Police Department and continues to dispatch for Murrieta Fire and Rescue and the Murrieta Police Department. Chief Conrad oversees a Communication Center that employs 39 dispatchers and supervisors and delivers excellent police, fire and emergency medical dispatching services to approximately 230,000 residents. It is estimated the Communications Center personnel at Murrieta process over 400,000 tasks every year.

Under Chief Conrad’s leadership, the department successfully navigated through the pandemic and at the same time adopted cutting edge technology to better police the city and connect with residents, including automated license plate reader cameras, body worn cameras, unmanned ariel drones, Carbyne live video, and very soon; Live 911.  Chief Conrad’s focus for 2023 is to continue to establish an in-house training unit with the police department’s subject matter experts, place officer and staff wellness as a high priority for the organization and hire the best police officers available that reside in and around Murrieta.  

Murrieta is one of the 50 largest cities in California with a population just over 119,000.  Murrieta is considered one of the safest cities in the United States.  Chief Conrad takes an active role in the community and with his partner agencies.  He is currently the Riverside County Public Safety Enterprise Communication System Steering Committee Chair and he sits on the Community Corrections Partnership Executive Committee and the Family Justice Center Board of Directors.  He is a member of the Association of Riverside County Chiefs of Police and Sheriff.  

The Murrieta Police Department remains a pro-active agency that prides itself on delivering the best police and dispatching service every day.  Murrieta PD is staffed with 109 police officers and 70 dispatchers and professional staff.  Chief Conrad delivers service and safety on an approximately $48 million budget.  Murrieta PD officers and staff not only live in the community, they are true partners with the community.