New Northern Division captain ready to lead La Jolla area after nearly two decades with SDPD

For the past nine weeks, Capt. Tammy Clendenen, the new leader of the San Diego Police Department’s Northern Division, has been learning the ins and outs of La Jolla and the other communities covered by her station.

After serving in the military and on SDPD teams that handled bomb threats and youth services, Clendenen started at her new post in August, taking over from Capt. Rick Aguilar, who had led the division since June 2024.

“I did a month of training at Northern Division and did a few overnights there,” Clendenen said. “But that was really my lens. So I have been immersing myself to get to know the community, the officers and understand what makes Northern Division what it is, and its communities.”

The Northern Division covers areas such as La Jolla, Pacific Beach, University City, Mission Beach, Bay Ho and  Clairemont Mesa.

Though Clendenen is still getting familiar with her new surroundings, she’s no stranger to public service.

“My dad was in the military and I ended up joining the military when I was 18,” she said.  “My dad was in the Army and I like to think I one-upped him and joined the Marine Corps. I always had an interest in law enforcement, but I didn’t know what that looked like. After my time in the Marine Corps, I got a master’s from UC Berkeley in history … because if you want to know the Constitution, you want to know and understand what [the forefathers] were reading, so I read about Greek and Roman societies.”

In 2006, Clendenen — an avid runner and reader in her down time — joined the San Diego Police Department with an interest in investigations.

She spent seven years in the Southern Division before being promoted to detective. Clendenen then transferred to the Western Division, where she led an investigation that ended up spanning multiple states and countries.

The investigation culminated in 2016, when a San Diego teenager was arrested in connection with an online gaming group that authorities said was responsible for “swatting” incidents (deceiving emergency services into responding to a location as a hoax or a means of harassing a target) and making false bomb threats across six states and Canada. One of the gamers might write a script for a bomb threat, another would record it and another would call it in through an online phone system.

As part of the investigation, Clendenen started with a phone number that showed up on police caller ID. That number had been issued by Skype, and the company provided police with a landline number for the account holder.

Clendenen obtained further account information from internet providers and discovered that several people were using email addresses that were linked together, she said.

Clendenen received an award for her involvement in the investigation and moved to the SDPD Homicide Division, followed by Internal Affairs, the Central Division and more. She also worked for two years in the STAR/PAL program, which looks to build relationships between law enforcement officers and area youths.

“I learned a lot about the value of police interaction with youth and the impact that can have,” she said.

Clendenen was promoted to captain in August 2024 and served in the Eastern Division for a year before transferring to Northern.

Now, she said, “I’m just immersing myself in the reports we are taking and our community outreach efforts. It’s a team effort, and there is no way I could do what I do without the team.”

Some of the top issues Clendenen is familiarizing herself with are traffic enforcement, including pedestrian-heavy areas of La Jolla where she said cars are “flying through,” violations of San Diego’s overnight parking ordinance, people living in cars, educating riders about e-bike safety, and the South American theft group that targeted La Jolla houses in recent years, which she said “seems to have decreased.”

Clendenen said she relies on reports from residents on the Captain’s Advisory Board and on what is reported to officers.

“We’re open for information and sharing information and how we can be of benefit,” she said.

She noted that a section of the Police Department web page enables residents to request additional neighborhood patrols if there is an ongoing issue (sandiego.gov/police/services/request-additional-patrol).

“I noticed that wasn’t being used … but this is a way [people] can share information on what we should be aware of,” she said. “They should use it.”

Though the Northern Division has had a series of captains in recent years, which some may find unsettling, Clendenen said the department’s leadership makes sure that anyone who takes the post is prepared.

“We have amazing leaders in our department [Chief Scott Wahl is a former Northern Division captain], and our top leadership and the vision they have given us is really bold,” she said. “We have been restructured and reorganized so we can modernize and meet the needs of the community. It’s a great vision. … There is a lot of movement … but the structure allows us to still be aware and involved. So even though I hadn’t worked at Northern Division, I was aware of what was going on, and that sets us up for success to absorb the changes.”

The Northern Division can be reached at 858-552-1700. To report non-emergency incidents 24 hours a day, call 619-531-2000, and for emergencies, dial 911.