Shawn Ahearn retired at the rank of Captain after serving thirty-two years with the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety (DPS). During his career, he held line, supervisory and administrative assignments in Patrol Operations, Fire Operations, Special Operations, Training Services, and Administrative Services. He was the administrator for the Canine Program, the Lexipol Policy Transition Project, the Police Training Officer (PTO) Program and the Sunnyvale DPS CIT Program.
Shawn earned his Bachelor of Public Administration degree from the University of San Francisco. In 2006 he graduated from the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office CIT academy and eventually took over coordination of the CIT program for Sunnyvale DPS, utilizing both police and fire personnel as in-field responders and case managers. The California Crisis Intervention Team Association (CCITA) and Santa Clara County Mental Health recognize the model as a “gold-standard” for integrated and progressive law enforcement response to mentally ill consumers within the community.
Shawn has instructed in numerous CIT academies in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. He was a co-developer and panelist for the San Andreas Regional Center webinar on Interaction with Law Enforcement for the Developmentally Disabled. Additionally, he received the first Santa Clara County CIT Officer of the Year Award by the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors for his work within the mental health community. He is a member of the California CIT Association and a member of CIT International. He also is recognized as a California Police Officer Standards of Training (POST) Subject Matter Expert (SME) for Alzheimer’s, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and Crisis Intervention training. He is a IPICD certified instructor for Agitated Chaotic Events (ACE). He also is a Suicide by Cop instructor.
In July 2020, Shawn joined the law enforcement liaison team for Santa Clara County Behavioral Health Services. As law enforcement liaison Shawn interacts with law enforcement and mental health professionals to facilitate problem solving and referrals for mental health services. Shawn and his colleagues provide law enforcement agencies countywide with training on crisis intervention, de-escalation techniques, and effective communication with people experiencing a mental health crisis.