City of Los Altos Welcomes New Police Chief
Los Altos, Calif. — July 5, 2022 — The city of Los Altos welcomes Angela Averiett as its newly appointed chief of police. Averiett will oversee the City’s full-service police department, composed of 32 officers and 17 professional personnel. She will assume her position Monday, August 1.
Averiett brings more than 25 years of experience in policing to Los Altos. Most recently, she served as the deputy chief for the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Police Department— a 200-officer, full-service police department responsible for the safety of 400,000 daily riders across five Bay Area counties, as well as the protection of the BART system.
“Chief Averiett has a proven record as a dynamic and respected leader in public safety,” said City Manager Gabriel Engeland. “She joins Los Altos at a critical time and will advance, listen, and lead the discussion on community-oriented policing.”
As deputy chief of BART PD, Averiett created, implemented, and oversaw the Progressive Policing and Community Engagement Bureau, a bureau committed to launching initiatives that aid individuals within the BART system experiencing homelessness, mental illness, or substance abuse. As part of building the bureau, she revised and redeployed the award-winning Transit Ambassador program and developed an innovative co-responder response model that helps at-risk individuals.
“I am humbled to serve the Los Altos community as the police chief and eager to get to work. My commitment to safety, accountability, fairness, and equity will strive to ensure the well-being of all who live, work, and travel through Los Altos,” said Averiett. A significant portion of Averiett’s career took place in Hayward, California, where she rose in the ranks from records clerk to lieutenant. In her 22 years with the Hayward community, Averiett served in the patrol and traffic divisions, and the internal affairs, community policing, and special duty (gang) units. Averiett was also team leader for critical incident stress management and peer support as well as assistant team leader for the crisis (hostage) negotiations unit.
Averiett’s track record illustrates a career devoted to tackling complex neighborhood problems by building trust-based relationships through inclusive community partnerships, communication, and engagement. Her collaborative policing efforts have resulted in the production of a summit attended by over 300 local youth, the revitalization of Hayward’s Neighborhood Watch Program, and the recognition from the District Attorney of Alameda County and Southern Alameda County NAACP for her work with the community-based Barbershop Forum.
“I firmly believe in forming collaborative relationships where everyone has a voice. I am enthusiastic and confident that together we can work to achieve common goals by building upon the strong foundation of the current city government,” Averiett explained.
Averiett holds a bachelor’s degree in Leadership and Organizational Studies from St. Mary's College (Moraga, California). She also graduated from the Alameda County Leadership Academy and the Los Angeles PD Leadership Academy. She currently serves on a number of community, civic, and professional organizations, including the California Association of Hostage Negotiators, Peace Officer Standards and Training AB392 Use of Force Guidelines Committee, and Women Leaders in Law Enforcement.
Averiett succeeds former Los Altos Police Chief Andy Galea, who retired on July 1 after serving over 14 years with the City’s police department. The City will be introducing Averiett to the community in the coming weeks.
