Michel Ishii, who has served as chief of the Hawthorne Police Department since January 2019, has been named interim chief of the Fountain Valley Police Department. Ishii replaces Chief Matt Sheppard, who retired in July after serving more than 24 years with the FVPD.
Ishii has been with the Hawthorne Police Department since 1990, first as a reserve officer and then as a full-time officer in 1992. His assignments in Hawthorne include motor officer, field training officer, internal affairs sergeant, public information officer, patrol bureau watch commander, and detective bureau commander. He was promoted to captain in 2010 and oversaw the administration and operations divisions and the city’s information technology services bureau.
Ishii was appointed as the Hawthorne interim police chief in October 2018 and was selected as the Hawthorne chief in January 2019. He retired in January 2022.
Chief Ishii oversaw a 160-member department in Hawthorne that prides itself on implementing innovative ways to provide public safety services and continuing to evolve and meet the challenges of present-day law enforcement.
In Hawthorne Ishii created the Hawthorne Safe Initiative, in which the police department focused on long-term strategies to provide safety and engagement in five key areas: parks, schools, traffic, neighborhoods and businesses.
Chief Ishii holds a Master of Science degree from California State University, Dominguez Hills in negotiations/ conflict management and a Bachelor of Arts degree from California State University Long Beach in communication studies.
Chief Ishii was born in Japan and grew up on a U.S. military base near Tokyo. He is fluent in Japanese.