Indio Sheriff's Captain Promoted to Chief Deputy
Captain Colleen Walker, who grew up in Indio, has been promoted to Chief Deputy.
The promotion places Walker within the administrative staff being assembled by new Sheriff Stan Sniff. There are—or will be— seven deputy chiefs, three assistant sheriffs, and one undersheriff in the administrative chain of command.
Walker's selection assures that Sniff's administration will have at least two women in it, since he has already selected Valerie Hill to be his undersheriff.
Walker's promotion also bodes well for the desert communities, as she is familiar with the issues, and will serve the Coachella Valley in Riverside through hiring, recruitment, training and assignment of staff to both Valley stations. In addition she will oversee both dispatch centers, massive systems countywide to be sure, and of particular concern to desert residents.
Walker was captain at the Indio station, where she was also police chief for the cities of Coachella and La Quinta.
She has worked virtually her entire career in the desert area. She has been a field training officer, and has worked in the corrections division.
Her father was an officer with the Indio police department, and her husband Wayne retired as a lieutenant with the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.