GILROY
– Inside the office of Gilroy’s police chief, it doesn’t look
much like the movies: There’s no hot-headed sergeant chewing out a
rebellious detective who plays by his own rules and no secretary
warning the chief of an irate mayor on line two.
GILROY – Inside the office of Gilroy’s police chief, it doesn’t look much like the movies: There’s no hot-headed sergeant chewing out a rebellious detective who plays by his own rules and no secretary warning the chief of an irate mayor on line two.
Instead, there are pictures of trains.
This is the inside world of Gregg Giusiana – the man who has carried the weight of protecting the Garlic City since 1998.
“I’ve always liked trains,” said Giusiana, who oversees the 108 employees of the Gilroy Police Department. “I use to have a (train) set in my basement in Rochester (New York) growing up. I don’t have a basement now, but I still collect (trains). I really couldn’t think of a better way to decorate the office.”
Giusiana’s loyalty to his love for trains has followed him thousands of miles and almost 40 years, just like his commitment to protect and serve Gilroy has stayed with him from being a wide-eyed student cadet in the 1970s all the way to being the chief of police who currently oversees a $15 million budget.
“The best thing about the chief is that he is so down to earth – you would never know he was a police chief if you saw him walking down the street,” said Lanny Brown, the GPD’s assistant chief who has worked both under Giusiana and as a peer in the department since 1985. “Some organizations’ open-door policy is nothing more than empty words – with the chief it means something. He treats everyone with respect.”
Giusiana, 48, was born in Rochester, N.Y. , and moved to Southern California when he was in junior high. It was in Redland – a town 60 miles east of Los Angeles – where he discovered his calling to serve his community. As a high schooler Giusiana joined the local Explorer program, which connects teens interested in law enforcement with local mentors.
“I was lucky to have a great mentor who showed me this is what I want to do with my life,” Giusiana said. “Serving the people is what makes it worthwhile – it is a very fulfilling profession.”
Following high school, Giusiana enrolled in San Jose State University to pursue a degree in justice administration. In January of 1974, while still in school, he was hired for a part-time cadet position with the GPD. Giusiana would go on to make full-time officer, sergeant, lieutenant, captain and finally chief of the GPD in 1998. He would also earn two bachelor’s degrees, one each in justice and business administration, followed by a master’s degree in public administration – all from San Jose State.
“It really feels like fate,” said Giusiana, who lives in Gilroy with his wife Christine and three daughters, ages 22, 14 and 13. “I applied for a cadet position all over the Bay Area and Gilroy hired me.
“At first I thought I would move on to somewhere bigger. Gilroy was really small then; The only traffic lights were on Monterey. But then I realized this was my home, and now I’ve lived here longer than anywhere in my life.”
Ask anybody in the GPD about Chief Giusiana’s qualities and the answer usually involves a combination of personal skills, leadership, balance and wisdom. But emotions were not always so positive in the department.
As street gangs and violent crime steadily expanded in Gilroy in the early and mid-1990s, morale in the GPD deflated quickly.
“There were pretty tough times in the department when he got here,” said Jay Baksa, the city manager. “But what Gregg brought was stability. He was promoted from within the force, and I think that meant a lot – he could relate to everyone. I don’t know anyone who he doesn’t get along with, and that promotes a good spirit within the force.”
Since being named chief in 1998, Giusiana has made internal relations within the department and external relations with the city and the community his top priority. He schedules time each day to roam the police department and converse with as many of the 60 sworn members of the GPD as he can. And while Giusiana is not on the beat anymore, he still finds time to hit the street.
He is a member of the Gang Task Force, both chambers of commerce, past president of the Garlic Festival and a member of too many other city and community organizations to list. Giusiana can also regularly be seen at his daughters’ softball and volleyball games and practices.
“(Giusiana) is a member of the community and that’s important,” said Mayor Tom Springer. “We are all thankful for the job he’s done. The department has come a long ways under him in a short time.”
But Giusiana says that job is far from finished.
He’ll admit that running from meeting to meeting throughout the day can sometimes make him miss working the street, but he realizes he can more efficiently meet his goal of helping people this way.
Giusiana says implementing traffic cops and getting more officers in local schools are some ways the department can improve, among other things.
“Before I leave I want to keep improving the training of our officers and our relationship with the neighborhoods,” he said. “We can always get better in every aspect.”
Giusiana will also be the engine pulling the GPD well into future. He says he plans to stay and oversee the building of the planned $19.2 million police station and the implementation of a new computerized dispatching system in squad cars.
As for what keeps him doing the often stressful, challenging and dangerous job, Giusiana points to one night when he was a young officer in Gilroy.
“An old lady had her purse stolen from her, and when we took her back to her house I had to break in through the window because her keys were in the purse,” he said. “When I came and let her in, she gave me a big hug, and that’s the best feeling in the world. Now I just remind myself I can help more of those people by what I’m doing now.”
