The Lincoln Police Department says it is on the hunt for its next captain, the department's second-in-command, following Chief Matt Alves' retirement and Zach Eaton's appointment as the new police chief. The announcement went out Friday on the department's Facebook page, with a simple, urgent framing: a red siren emoji and the words “We are looking for our next Police Captain.”
Leadership Shakeup Triggers the Opening
According to the Lincoln Police Department's Facebook post, the vacancy resulted directly from Alves' retirement and Eaton's subsequent appointment as chief. The post also included a graphic noting that Lincoln, California, was established in 1890, a nod to the city's long history as the post introduced its search for the department's new No. 2.
The captain position is a significant one within the department's structure. Per a city recruitment listing hosted by Mosaic Public Partners, the Police Captain reports directly to the chief of police and serves as the department's second-in-command. The same listing describes a department of 46 total staff members operating on a current fiscal-year budget of $11.3 million.
A Six-Figure Salary and a Confusing Timeline
The listed salary for the role ran up to $202,000, depending on an applicant's qualifications and experience, the Mosaic Public Partners posting states. Typical requirements described on that page included eight years of increasingly responsible law-enforcement experience, with at least two of those years spent in a management capacity.
Here's where things get murky. That same recruitment page states that applications were due no later than Monday, September 8, 2025, and includes a notice that the recruitment has closed and is no longer accepting applications. That creates an apparent conflict with Friday's Facebook announcement, which presents the captain search as current. The available information does not clarify whether the new announcement reflects a fresh recruitment effort or simply a resurfaced reference to the earlier, closed listing.
How Lincoln Got Here
Alves' departure caps a long run in Lincoln law enforcement. The chief was set to retire after 27 years of service, with his retirement effective Sept. 17, according to The Sacramento Bee. He had been appointed public safety chief in June 2021, a role that put him in charge of both the city's police and fire departments simultaneously. When Lincoln returned to separate leadership structures for the two departments in 2023, Alves stayed on specifically as police chief, the outlet reported.
At the time of that reporting, the Sacramento Bee noted that the city of Lincoln was expected to announce plans for the Police Department's leadership transition at a later date — a detail that lines up with Friday's captain search becoming public.
Lincoln, a city of 54,742 residents located roughly 27 miles northeast of Sacramento, is now left to fill out its command staff as the department works through the transition. What remains unclear is whether residents or prospective applicants should expect a new application window, an updated deadline, or further guidance beyond Friday's social media post.
