Release Date/Time: 4/29/2020 10:25 PM
Incident: Commander Stan Cooper Retirement
Date: Wednesday, 4/29/2020
Time: 10:25 PM
Commander Stan Cooper was born and raised in Salinas, graduating Palma High School and later attending Hartnell College. He was hired by the Salinas Police Department in April 1990, attending and graduating the Gavilan Police Academy that summer.
Over the course of his career, Commander Cooper has worked several different assignments across all three Divisions; Patrol, Investigations, and Administration. Stan worked many rotations through Salinas Police gang units. As an officer, he was a member of the Special Enforcement Team and was a founding member of the Violence Suppression Unit. He was also assigned to patrol. Stan promoted to Police Corporal in 1999.
As a Corporal, he was assigned to patrol and worked as a Field Training Officer (FTO). Stan rotated into the Investigations Bureau in 2001 as a Detective working persons crimes and homicide. He promoted to Police Sergeant in 2001.
As a Sergeant, Stan supervised patrol, Personnel and Training, and was a founding member of the Monterey County Joint Gang Task Force where he supervised a multi-agency team responsible for gang enforcement, intervention, and anti-gang education throughout Monterey County. He also spent brief periods of time supervising the Field Training Program and the Investigations Bureau. Stan promoted to Police Commander in 2011.
That same year, Commander Cooper was tasked with merging the existing Gang Task Force with the newly created Monterey County Narcotics/Violent Crimes Task Force, which combined both the Salinas Police Department and Monterey County Sherriff's narcotics units. With this new collaboration, Stan led the build out of the Law Enforcement Operations Center (LEOC), a stand-alone investigations center, housing investigators from ATF, CHP, DEA, FBI, and HSI. This team later became an arm of Northern California's High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) South Bay Metro Task Force. In 2013, Stan oversaw Monterey County's largest wiretap gang investigation, 'Operation Snake Eyes.” He also worked as the patrol Watch Commander and managed the Field Training Program, K-9 unit, and served as both North and South Salinas Area Commander.
2016 brought Stan back to the Investigations Bureau as the Investigations Commander. It was during this time that he made his interest in helping with a new police facility known. A new building had long been promised. That interest led to his selection as Project Manager, a position he originally held collaterally while working as the Investigations Commander. He was assigned to project management full time in 2018. The opening of the new police building has been his greatest and most rewarding challenge of his career. Police Chief Frese stated, 'Commander Cooper immersed himself fully to our new building project. It was quickly apparent that his goal was to stretch every dollar of the project to create an environment that would serve the members of the police department and the community for decades to come. His coordination, attention to detail, and management, is the reason we now have a highly functional building in which we are all proud to work and have endless possibilities for community engagement.”
During his years of service Commander Cooper has held a number of collateral duties, to include Firearms Instructor/Lead Rangemaster, SWAT, Board Member for the Salinas Police Officers Association, Vice-President of the Salinas Police Managers Association and Police Academy Instructor. He has received numerous awards and accommodations throughout the years to include the Monterey County Peace Officers Association's Award of Merit, and the Salinas Police Department Distinguished Service Award.
In addition to his police service, Stan has volunteered his time with the Police Activities League, AT&T Pro-Am, Salinas Airshow, and the Salinas High School Mountain Bike Team. Stan and his wife (Vicki) of 27 years plan to remain in the area. Their daughter is currently attending college in Washington State.