It was the morning of 9/11 when Saul Jaeger felt compelled to apply to police departments to have a “little bit more purpose” and contribute to something bigger. Now after 22 years of public service, Mountain View police Capt. Jaeger has announced his retirement, according to a news release from the Mountain View Police Department.
A lot looks the same from when Jaeger joined the police force in 2003, he said. But there have been some dramatic changes as well, particularly in the last few years. Officers approach law enforcement differently today as a result of community conversations, he said.
“We’ve done a really exceptional job, I think, very differently than a lot of agencies have across the country, in connecting with our community and being really proactive with questions and concerns and things that the community may have,” Jaeger said.
Jaeger attributed the changes to a national reckoning ignited by the deaths of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, who were killed by police in 2020. In solidarity with the Black Lives Movement, hundreds of people in Mountain View demonstrated against police brutality and showed up in droves at City Council meetings, calling for more police oversight and accountability.
What made Mountain View different from other cities, according to Jaeger, was that it took steps to address the concerns of the community directly, and instituted a program called MVPDx. It was like a citizen’s academy but flipped on its head, Jaeger said.
The idea was not to “teach at” the community or to change minds, but rather to listen, provide answers to questions and help people make decisions about how to best affect change, he said.
While MVPDx wasn’t born from any one person’s idea, Jaeger played a key role in getting it started. Since then, it has been quasi-replicated by other agencies around the country, he said.
MVPDx is just one of the many programs that Jaeger has contributed to during his lengthy career with the Mountain View Police Department. He has served in every division of the organization, including its crisis negotiation team and in various investigative and task force leadership roles, according to the news release.
Jaeger also holds a master’s degree in emergency services management from California State University and a doctorate in psychology from Touro University, both of which he obtained while working as a police officer. Ever since his first day on the force, he has been studying human behavior, Jaeger said.
“I like to talk to people and be out there. And at the end of the day, our job is more than just chasing bad guys,” he said. “We can’t be everywhere at once, and so we need the community with us, helping us to be able to solve crime.”
Recently, Jaeger had his last “radio call,” which brought back a flood of memories of the exciting, terrifying and at times humorous incidents over the years, he said. But what he remembers most is the moments of being with other officers, growing with them and helping to guide younger cohorts.
“It’s those moments of how you’ve left your legacy that are the ones that I feel like they’re going to live the longest,” he said.
Jaeger plans to spend more time with his family and pursue other personal interests during retirement. His official retirement date is set for July 25.