Fort Bragg Police Chief Neil Cervenka to Retire in October
Updates: Quotes from Shaun Rundle, Jesse Martin, Tim Bosma and Jennifer Bosma were added after initial publication. The story was finalized August 11, 2025 10:50 a.m.
Fort Bragg Police Chief Neil Cervenka confirmed to Mendo Local on Monday that he has submitted his retirement paperwork, effective Oct. 1.
Cervenka said he is proud of the state of the Fort Bragg Police Department and wants to retire on a high note.
“When everyone wants you to stay, that is the time to go,” he said, noting that he has spent 25 years in law enforcement and 35 years in uniform, including a stint in the U.S. Air Force.
The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) allows members in law enforcement and public safety to retire at age 50, though doing so can result in a reduced retirement benefit.
The city of Fort Bragg is expected to release a formal statement later Monday.
Cervenka, 50, came to Fort Bragg from Turlock, Calif., where he served for 22 years and gained experience in internal affairs investigations, public relations, as a SWAT commander and a lieutenant. Cervenka also holds a Master in Business Administration from California State University, Stanislaus and is president of the California Peace Officers’ Association.
Shaun Rundle, who served as executive director at the California Peace Officer’s Association for the last three years, said he first met Cervenka when he was a lieutenant in Turlock, Calif. Rundle said Cervenka has had “an incredible impact” as a volunteer for the association, which focuses on training and leadership development of peace officers. “What stood out to me was that he was a go-getter,” Rundle said
After arriving in Fort Bragg in 2022, Cervenka prioritized organizational wellness.
“That was my area of research during Command College,” he said. “At Fort Bragg, I implemented many of the things I learned there to create a more stable and wholesome environment.”
This included an emphasis on training and technology. When Cervenka took over, the department was not in compliance with the minimum standards set by the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST), putting it at risk of decertification. The department now has a five-year training plan in place and is exceeding the POST threshold, he said.
One area of emphasis has been search warrant training. In Fort Bragg, obtaining search warrants is now part of the field training process, ensuring that every officer is comfortable writing a warrant and presenting probable cause to a judge.
“By getting search warrants on everything, it eliminates a lot of problems down the line,” Cervenka said.
An investment in electric police vehicles has also put Fort Bragg on the map for climate-conscious policing. The department acquired four 2023 Ford F-150 Lightning Special Service Vehicle police trucks using grants and its vehicle replacement budget.
Cervenka implemented a formal process for handling citizen complaints against officers. The process follows the California Peace Officers’ Bill of Rights, which allows officers to file written rebuttals to unfounded complaints and ensures those complaints cannot be used as the basis for discipline.
Cervenka said the new process may have helped improve the department’s retention rate.
“I’m proud of the fact that, going back 20 years, we were losing one or more officers to neighboring agencies every year, and in the last two years we’ve lost none,” he said. He concedes, however, that it can be frustrating for members of the public, especially when their complaints are not sustained.
Cervenka said he’s also proud of his departments involvement in the community, which has included rescuing kittens, escorting the 2025 Special Olympics “Flame of Hope” and appearing in Art Explorer’s upcoming film, "Bragging Rites," among the most recent activities.
Jesse Martin, chief executive officer of Parents and Friends, said he particularly appreciated Cervenka’s support for the Blue Envelope program. The Blue Envelope program is an outreach initiative designed to help improve interactions between law enforcement and individuals with disabilities or communication challenges, by providing them a way to self identify.
Martin said Cervenka was enthusiastic about bringing the program to the Mendocino Coast — in contrast to some other departments in the region who did not respond at all. “He was amazing and very proactive in making a better and stronger community,” Martin said.
Tim Bosma, who runs the family-owned Harvest Market supermarkets in Fort Bragg and the Village of Mendocino, praised the Care Response Unit — an innovative way of handling homelessness and mental health issues — that was proposed and implemented by Captain Tom O’Neal with Cervenka’s full support.
Bosma said the cycle of shoplift, arrest —repeat has been broken for some struggling members of the community. “People that need help are getting help, Bosma said. “And I think the officers feel better, too, because it’s not just a revolving a door. The officers are part of a real solution.”
Bosma said people he has had to ban for their behavior are now allowed back in the store. He cited one particularly gratifying example of a shopper who can return as a result of the work done with by members of the Care Response Unit and a police officer, who sponsored that person.
Jennifer Bosma praised Chief Cervenka for jumping in and helping direct traffic in and out of the store when an enterprising member of a road crew shut down the two roads that lead into and out of the store two years ago.
“I know in my heart I have given my full measure,” Cervenka said. “I have helped set up this department with leadership, succession planning, stability, technology, training—and I feel like they are in a better place than they ever have been.”