Porterville captain brings calm to McFarland PD

The Kern County City of McFarland is pleased with the work of a Porterville police captain currently serving as its interim police chief.

Silver Rodriguez — the division commander in Porterville — was placed on loan to the McFarland Police Department July 23 following the unexpected resignation of David Frazer, who came aboard to run the new department since its inception Jan. 1.

“We think he’s doing a good job, he really helped us out with the department. Things were kind of in a disarray with the former chief leaving, he was able to calm it right down,” McFarland City Administrator Bob Wilburn said.

According to Wilburn, Rodriguez is not a candidate for the permanent chief position, and is expected to stay in the interim post for about another 30 days. The City of McFarland is reimbursing the City of Porterville for Rodriguez’s salary, which was $8,456 per month in Fiscal Year 2009-10.

“I asked [Porterville Police Chief McMillan] to send me someone that wasn’t going to be a candidate ... at this stage in the game, I probably regret that,” Wilburn said.

Rodriguez, a graduate of the FBI National Academy, began his law enforcement career as a police officer with the Porterville Police Department in 1980. According to McMillan, Rodriguez was a prime candidate for the interim position given his experience as the former chief of the Porterville Police Department in the early 2000s.

McMillan said the Porterville Police Department developed a relationship with McFarland when it sold it some of its surplus vehicles to operate its new department. McFarland is a community of about 12,000 off Highway 99, seven miles south of Delano.

Contact Jenna Chandler at 784-5000, Ext. 1050, or jchandler@portervillerecorder.com.