In his first major personnel change since being sworn in as territorial police chief, Jose Garcia has reportedly signed transfer orders for Police Capt. Roberto Simmonds and Lt. Rene Garcia.
As of Sunday, Simmonds, now commander of St. John's Leander Jurgen Command, will become zone commander of the Muriel C. Newton Command, "Zone C" on St. Thomas. Lt. Garcia replaces Simmonds on St. John.
Garcia is no stranger to St. John, having served there in the past. Simmonds comes to St. Thomas to replace a lieutenant who has served as commander since Capt. Vincent Georges retired from the force last year.
Personnel changes, such as switching commanders of the police precincts, are routine. The transfers are ordered by the police chief and generally supported by the police commissioner.
Other zone commanders on St. Thomas include Capt. Al Donastorg at the Richard Callwood Zone A Command and Capt. Adelbert Molyneaux at the Bassanio David Command in Lindbergh Bay, the home of the department's Special Operations Bureau.
The zone commanders and the heads of the various bureaus and units of the department such as traffic, communications, investigations and school security report directly to the police chief.