Petaluma, California – The Petaluma Police Department is proud to announce that veteran Petaluma Police Officer William “Bill” Baseman will retire this Friday, March 9, 2018, after 23 years of dedicated service to the community.
Corporal Baseman began his career with the Police Department in January 1995. He served in a variety of assignments including patrol officer, bicycle patrol officer, field training officer, detective, D.A.R.E officer, school resource officer, and crisis negotiator.
Corporal Baseman served with distinction in all of his assignments. His accomplishments during his career are numerous. The most significant accomplishments involve his work to bring together mental health service providers, healthcare service providers, social services, and law enforcement to address the needs of those in our community who are most vulnerable.
In addition to his community engagement and outreach efforts to address the mental health crisis, Corporal Baseman saw a need to address serial inebriants as well. Through the monthly mental health meetings hosted inside the Police Department, Corporal Baseman collaborated with our community partners to initiate the county’s first pilot program called Sober Circle. The pilot program has achieved great success in getting serial inebriants to treatment instead of jail.
Corporal Baseman also leaves behind a legacy of community centered policing and has trained and mentored generations of our police officers on the best practices in the delivery of public safety services to the community. His genuine care for the community and his fellow officers earned him the 2012 Petaluma Police Officer of the Year award. He was also recognized as the 2014 Vilho Ahola Most Inspirational Employee of the Year award.
Petaluma Police Officer Bill Baseman has provided tremendous leadership, influence, and development to our staff that has directly contributed to the success of our organization. We are grateful for his service to the City, our profession, and our community and we congratulate him on his well-deserved retirement.
