After 8-Year Vacancy, Navajo Hire Police Chief
July 06, 2016
The Navajo Nation announced Wednesday it has finally hired a police chief. The Navajo Police Department has gone eight years with the top position unfilled.
The Navajo Nation hired 40-year-old Phillip Francisco, currently a Farmington Police Department patrol and training officer. The tribe's last police chief, Jim Benally, stepped down in 2008 amid political turmoil. A variety of officers have since overseen the department on a temporary basis.
The tribe initially limited the position to its members, but tribal spokesman Mihio Manus said the restriction was lifted because it was a struggle to find qualified applicants.
Manus says Francisco is half Navajo.
