Captain DJ Nesel has been named the next police chief in Maple Valley.

Nesel joined the King County Sheriff’s Office as a Deputy in 1991 after serving in the United States Marine Corps as a Military Police Investigator. He has held leadership roles during 18 of his 25+ years in law enforcement and has progressed through the King County Sheriff’s Department ranks in various positions, including Detective-Fraud/Organized Crime Unit, Patrol Sergeant, Detective Sergeant, Court Security Sergeant, Operations Captain-Southeast Precinct in Maple Valley, Administrative Captain, Section Commander/Executive Directive-King County 9-1-1 Communications Center and, most recently,as Internal Investigations Unit Commander.

Nesel will assume the helm in Maple Valley on Sept. 15.

A farewell reception for outgoing Chief Michelle Bennett will be held at the Sept. 8th City Council meeting.