A retired Richmond police captain has been named permanent Chief of Inspectors for the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office, according to DA Diana Becton.
Chief Arnold Threets, a U.S. Marine Corp. veteran who retired from the RPD in 2018 after 25 years, previously served as the Acting Chief and Assistant Chief of Inspectors for the DA’s Office, which he joined in 2019.
“I have known Chief Threets since I was a judge in Richmond and he was a young detective. I was always impressed with his demeanor, candor, and commitment to justice,” Becton said. in a statement. “I have watched his career as he rose all the way through the ranks of the Richmond Police Department, retiring as a Captain. Arnold continues to help our office modernize and embrace new technologies and strengthen our protocol investigations.”
Threets served, managed, and led various patrol, investigative, tactical, and administrative units with the RPD and was the founding Commander of RPD’s Special Investigative concept, where he worked with the city’s Office of Neighborhood Safety to address gang violence via a nationally-recognized, community-driven approach, the DA’s Office said.
Since joining the DA’s Office in 2018, Threets has “played a key role in the development, training and implementation of DA Becton’s new Protocol investigative process,” the DA’s Office said.
“At the request of the Contra Costa County Chiefs of Police Association, he partnered with former Chief Assistant Venus Johnson to train County law enforcement personnel on the changes to the law regarding the use of deadly force, as well as the updates to our internal investigative process,” the DA’s Office said.
Threets, who led the RPD’s transition to a new computer-aided dispatch system and the adoption of Axon body worn cameras, will also reportedly lead the DA’s Office’s expansion of the use of Evidence.com with partnering County law enforcement agencies.
Threets has a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice Management from The Union Institute and University in Ohio and a Master’s Degree in Criminology, Law and Society from UC Irvine. Threets and his wife, Tessa, have three adult children.
