The job of police chief is described as the top official in the chain of command of the police department, but there is a lot more to it than that.

Police Chief D.J Nesel from the Maple Valley Police Department has been working as police chief since 2014.

He said he has never loved a city more than Maple Valley, and he has worked all over King County.

Nesel got involved with law enforcement when he was just a teenager. According to Nesel, he was a troublemaker as a teen and that’s when one of the officers in Los Angeles (where he is from), told him “Hey, you have too much time on your hands, lets get you involved.” After that, Nesel joined the Wilderness Explorers Program.

From that point on, he knew law enforcement was something he wanted to do with his life.

“That set the tone for my future,” he said.

Nesel came to Maple Valley when the prior chief, Michelle Bennett, moved to a different unit. He was contacted because the department thought he would be perfect for the job.

“They wanted someone to take care of the city and take care of the department,” Nesel said.

Nesel said so far, the job is everything he expected and wanted it to be, and much more. So much so, he fell in love with the Tahoma School District and decided to move his kids from a private school in Seattle, to Tahoma. He said they love it here as does he and his wife.

“I was looking to get back to my roots, at this point in my career, I thought it would be nice,” he said.

Nesel said this job is more than just being the leader of the team. He said you do a little of everything and that no one has just one job.

When one of his officers needs backup out on the street, he is more than willing to do that for them.

Nesel said there is not as much crime in Maple Valley as other areas he has worked, and that gives him an opportunity to help the community more.

“It (was) just a blur, you never felt like you were helping people, but coming here there isn’t any big crimes, it’s (the community) small but strong,” Nesel said.

With a smaller city and smaller department, he said it is easier for the community to reach out to him if they need to.

He said his number one priority is what the community needs, which according to Nesel is helping kids and families.

The chief said they need to take care of the kids and keep them busy with safe and fun activities so they stay out of trouble and away from drugs and other dangerous activities.

“You have to see the bigger picture when working in this jurisdiction,” he said. “We try to make sure we play well with the needs and missions of the city, it’s a very busy job.”

Although this is one of the most important parts of Nesel’s job, it can also be one of the hardest parts.

He said it is sometimes hard to keep up with the demand that there is while sticking to a budget.

“You have to be sure your good at your budget, get as much bang for your buck,” Nesel said. “The hardest part is balancing that.”

He said making sure his citizens are safe, while sticking to the budget is hard, but needs to be done.

The citizens have expectations of him and his department and Nesel said he is always looking how he can reach them. He looks at every situation with a team approach.

When Nesel first came to Maple Valley, no one really talked about the homelessness problem here. Or the drug related issues either.

Though he and his colleagues at the city have gotten over the hurdle of ignoring that problem and are actively talking about what they can do to fix things.

“Leaders in the community came forward and started talking about homelessness,” he said. “This might not be a police issue, but we need to take care of everyone in our city.”

He said this is one of the biggest accomplishments he and others have had since he started working here.

Nesel said he loves this city so much that he knows this is the job he is likely to retire from. He said it is the best feeling in the world getting to help out his community in anyway he can.

“I wouldn’t have moved here if I didn’t believe in it (the city),” Nesel said. “I love the citizens here and the support they give the police department, honest to God, it’s not like any support I have had in my King County career.”