WPD's Rudy Escalante Named Capitola's Top Cop

One of Watsonville's highest-ranking police officers will be the next top cop in Capitola.

Deputy Police Chief Rudy Escalante was selected to replace Mike Card as Capitola Police Chief, Capitola Mayor Mike Termini told Patch Wednesday morning. Escalante was chosen from a field of 30-40 applicants and will start in Capitola on April 1.

He has been a leader in the Watsonville Police Department for almost 2 1/2 years. Escalante, who spent most of his career working his way through the ranks at the Santa Cruz Police Department, was hired under new Watsonville Police Chief Manny Solano in October 2009.

Much of Escalante's job in Watsonville involved budget and personnel matters, but he also was the face of the department for several serious incidents, inlcuding last summer's murder-suicide in a quiet neighborhood and the tragic plane crash that killed a Santa Cruz couple and their two young sons.

Solano was reluctant to comment on the loss of Escalante prior to an official annoucement from Capitola, but said it's been a dream of Escalante's to become a police chief.

"I'm happy for him," Solano said. "I think Capitola is very fortunate."

In Santa Cruz, Escalante oversaw the Investigations Bureau, handling cases such as the Harbor Rape and the Elias Sorokin kidnapping and murder.

Although violent crime rates in Capitola are much lower than in the cities where Escalante has policed in the past, there was a homicide in the city in December.

Read the full story on Escalante's new job on Capitola-Soquel Patch.

In Watsonville, Solano said he would like to promote from within the department, but said that may take some time while mid-level officers complete education requirements. The chief said he is looking at several staffing models but no decision has been made.

"Either way, Rudy is going to leave behind a lot of work," Solano said. "Someone's going to have to replace him."