Jessica Robledo is Denton鈥檚 new police chief, according to an announcement from the city Thursday.
Robledo has served as the Denton Police Department鈥檚 . She is the first woman to serve as acting police chief in Denton.
The city did not publicly solicit for the position before her appointment, Chief Communications Officer Dustin Sternbeck said.
鈥淪he鈥檚 had the opportunity to demonstrate her ability to be an effective leader,鈥� Sternbeck said. 鈥淪he is certainly committed to improving public safety and making the Denton Police Department a model agency for law enforcement.鈥�
City Council members will vote on the appointment during their Sept. 24 meeting. If approved, Robledo will be sworn in on Oct. 8.
Robledo served at the Austin Police Department for 30 years. Then, she served as chief of police for the Pflugerville Police Department for four years until her resignation in 2021.
Her leadership in Pflugerville ended with some controversy, , with Pflugerville officers giving mixed reviews of Robledo鈥檚 leadership.
However, Denton City Manager Sara Hensley told the Denton Record-Chronicle in July that members of the department and other city staffers have had positive experiences with Robledo.
Hensley said several officers expressed that they didn鈥檛 want her to look for an external candidate.
鈥淚鈥檝e had officers come up to me and say that if we don鈥檛 keep her, then we are really crazy because she treats all the officers with respect,鈥� Hensley said.
Hensley said she has 鈥�150%鈥� faith in Robledo and her leadership abilities.
鈥淚 have the utmost confidence that every division she makes is with the city in mind, protecting the city but most importantly protecting the people she supervises,鈥� Hensley said.
鈥淪he has hard conversations when she needs to. But she鈥檚 the first one to be there to congratulate them, support them, to give them honest feedback and to be there for them.鈥�