Salem, Ore. — Friday, March 8th, Salem Police Chief Trevor Womack presided over a special ceremony to promote Lieutenant Debra Aguilar to the rank of deputy chief.
Aguilar started with the agency in December 2000 and has served in various assignments since then. While in the Field Operations Division, she worked as a school resource officer at West Salem High School. In 2011, she promoted to the rank of sergeant. Just two years later in 2013, she was again promoted, receiving the rank of lieutenant. In the decade-plus that followed, Aguilar was assigned to several specialty disciplines, such as threat assessment, crisis negotiations, and defensive tactics. She also assisted in several key roles for the department, acting as liaison to the Human Rights Commission and the local non-profit Salem for Refugees.
The new deputy chief is a graduate of Western Oregon University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish. In 2017, Aguilar also attended the prestigious FBI National Academy, a ten-week program that brings together elite law enforcement officers for focused training in a variety of disciplines. Aguilar is also second-generation law enforcement. She followed the career path of her father, a now-retired sergeant with Oregon State Police.
Aguilar is also the second woman in department history to hold the rank of deputy chief. During the ceremony Chief Womack underscored his trust and confidence in her, and also observed Aguilar “earned her new rank, having served our community for 24 years and passed a rigorous, competitive deputy chief testing process to get here today. And, she happens to be a woman in a profession still dominated by men. That is worth noting since coincidentally, she is being promoted in March which is National Women’s History Month.”
In her assignment as a new division commander, Aguilar will lead the Investigations Division.
