Commander Ken Fixel Biography
Commander Ken Fixel was born and raised in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin area and relocated to Arizona in 1991. Commander Fixel joined the Gilbert Police Department in 1992. Commander Fixel has worked on several programs and projects throughout his career at the Gilbert Police Department.
In 1993, he assisted in creating and implementing Gilbert’s SWAT Team and served as an original member of the team. In 1997, he developed and implemented the Office of Professional Standards that originally encompassed Recruitment, Selection, Hiring, Training, Accreditation, Legal, Crime Analysis, and Internal Affairs. As the department’s first Accreditation Manager, guided the department toward international accreditation awarded through the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) in 2000 and is currently an assessor for CALEA.
In 2004, Commander Fixel graduated from Northwestern University’s School of Police Staff and Command. Commander Fixel graduated from the Federal Bureau of Investigation National Academy’s 231st Session in 2007. He holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Arizona State University and Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Commander Fixel has worked in or managed every area of the department. He currently serves as the Patrol Commander over both the Central and Santan Divisions and is ultimately responsible for the Public Affairs Unit, Communications, Records, Counseling, Training, Crime Prevention programs, Homeland Security coordination, and technology used in the department.