Married with Badges
Carlos and Colleen Mestas are the only married
police chiefs in America
When Colleen Mestas became police chief of Visalia in December 2009 after serving as interim chief for three
months, the law enforcement veteran achieved a rare milestone – with a little help from her husband.
With Carlos A. Mestas serving as police chief of nearby Hanford since 2003, the two instantly became only the
second husband-and-wife team of police chiefs in California history. Carlo Cudio was police chief of Monterey
in 2005 when his wife, Paulette, was appointed police chief in Gonzales in 2005.
Both Colleen and Carlos Mestas say the demanding job of running police departments has made for some
fascinating pillow talk, but that they try not to bring their work home with them.
“It can be difficult,” says Colleen Mestas, 46. “You have to make a concerted effort to say to yourself, ‘I’m at home
now.’ We have to remind ourselves that we are people outside of work.”
Carlos Mestas and Colleen Mestas
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Behind The Badge