Apache Junction, AZ – Apache Junction Police Chief Michael Pooley stood before the City Council on September 16 to deliver a comprehensive update on his department’s operations, technology investments, and vision for the future.
Chief Pooley began his presentation by addressing the department’s continued healing following the loss of Officer Gabriel Facio, who died in the line of duty on June 8, 2025.
“We are moving forward, and we are moving forward together,” Chief Pooley told the council. “In honor of Officer Facio, we’re going to continue to do good police work and provide excellent service to the community.”
The department plans to roll out a “recharge room” for officer mental health and physical wellness. Chief Pooley also outlined improvements to officer training, noting lessons learned from Officer Facio’s death. The department has established a classroom setting at the old Thunder Mountain Junior High, at the Fire Training Center and introduced police jujitsu training as a safer method for taking people into custody. “Our training has to be better, and our training has to be able to be something that we’re not doing once a year, and not just twice a year, but consistently,” Pooley emphasized.
Technology as a Force Multiplier
Chief Pooley described how modern technology has transformed the department’s capabilities in a growing city.
“This is a force multiplier,” Pooley explained. “We’re not able to be everywhere at all times, but with these cameras, we’re able to solve a lot of crime.”
The department currently operates three primary technology platforms: a VirTra virtual training simulator, an 11-drone program, and 31 FLOCK license plate reader cameras positioned throughout the city.
FLOCK Cameras Solve Major Cases
The license plate reader system has generated substantial results. Since the beginning of 2025, the cameras have generated over 6,000 alerts, identifying 224 stolen license plates, 199 stolen vehicles, and 18 missing persons entering Apache Junction.
The department has cameras at just about any entrance into the city, Pooley said, allowing officers to monitor if people come in and commit a crime and obtain a suspect description.
The chief shared several success stories demonstrating the technology’s impact. In one case, a car dealership owner discovered that all the rims had been stolen from a Hummer H2 on their lot.
“The owner of the business came in one morning and they found that their Hummer H2 that they had for sale, all the rims were taken off of the vehicle,” Pooley recounted. “With these FLOCK cameras and some other surveillance, we were able to identify the suspect vehicle. Our officers were able to find that vehicle, and the suspect had actually put those stolen rims on their truck.”
The system also cracked a hit-and-run case involving a bicyclist. “We also had a hit and run where a bicyclist was hit by a vehicle. The vehicle fled the scene and took off,” Pooley explained. “With the license plate reader and throughout having access to these other license plate reader data throughout the state, we were able to identify where this vehicle was and we were able to find them in Mesa and there was damage to the front of the vehicle just like where the person had been hit by the vehicle. They admitted to it, and we were able to take that person into custody as well.”
Chief Pooley experienced the technology’s capability firsthand during an off-duty incident. He initially thought he saw a car fire at Brown and Signal Butte, but discovered it was actually a boat on fire. The vehicle towing the burning boat fled the scene.
“I followed him,” Pooley said. “I couldn’t get close enough but I saw him go right by one of our FLOCK cameras. We were able to identify the suspect and get the plate and found out exactly where they lived and caught them within about 10 minutes.”
Establishing Accountability
Chief Pooley detailed the oversight that the department has implemented for its technology use, particularly with drones. The monitoring system ensures both the chief and the entire command staff receive notifications.
“Our drones are monitored with software where any time they go up in the air, I’m notified as well as the entire command staff to make sure that we know why they’re up and what they’re being used for,” Pooley explained. “Everything that’s filmed is available to us to review as well.”
The department actively uses five to six of its 11 drones for tactical entries, search and rescue operations, and suspect searches, with the remaining units held in reserve.
Future Technology Under Consideration
Chief Pooley described technological capabilities the department is currently researching. The centerpiece involves developing a real-time crime center modeled after Mesa Police Department’s operation.
“Many of the police departments, Mesa Police Department has a great real-time crime center right now that we are hopefully going to model a smaller version of that, where we’ll be able to monitor, real-time, some of these cameras that we have and identify suspects that are currently in progress to make a quicker apprehension as well,” Pooley said.
Councilmember Bryan Soller, who works for Mesa Police Department, drew on his professional experience to evaluate the technology initiatives.
“I have the benefit, working for Mesa, we have real-time, we have the drones. It makes a big difference. We are solving things,” Soller said. “We just had a case last Monday night, and it was all on tape. We were able to track it back and find out who owned the vehicle, where it went, all through FLOCK.”
The department is also looking at a drone-as-a-first-responder program, which would deploy drones to violent crimes or missing person cases before officers arrive on scene. Pooley said this approach provides officers with real-time information and improves response times while enhancing officer safety.
Additional 911 center enhancements are also under consideration to help dispatchers answer calls more quickly and relay information to officers more efficiently.
Council Praises Leadership
Council members offered strong praise for Chief Pooley’s leadership and its impact on recruitment and operations.
Councilmember Bambi Johnson reflected on the department’s transformation. “With everything that has been brought to us over the last several years, we have people that are now applying to be police officers here. We look back a few years, that wasn’t happening anywhere,” Johnson said. “Your leadership has been very instrumental in bringing things to the Council, to the city, of how we can progress and attract the best officers in Arizona to be those who stand guard for our citizens here in Apache Junction.”
Soller also emphasized the importance of training. “Better trained, more professional, better police department. And you guys are right on track.”
Hiring and Call Volume
The department had nearly 50 people signed up to attend its most recent testing process, a dramatic increase from three applicants with only two showing up for more than 20 positions when Pooley first arrived. The department has hired 13 sworn officers in 2025 so far, along with seven professional staff members.
Calls for service continue to climb, with 31,950 recorded so far in 2025. Chief Pooley projected the department would handle about 47,000 calls for service by year’s end, possibly reaching 50,000 as winter visitors return to the area.
Chief Pooley told the council the department continues to monitor its progress with hiring and staffing. The department maintains 95 sworn positions and 57 professional staff positions, with some positions grant-funded for school resource officers. Just about every school in the Apache Junction community has a school resource officer, with the department working to place officers in the remaining schools. An SRO is also dedicated to Peralta Trail Elementary in Gold Canyon.
