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Congratulations to Detective Sergeant Aaron Garihan on his well deserved retirement!

Sergeant Garihan is a Petaluma native who graduated from Casa Grande High before joining the department in 1996. As a local, he embraced community policing and has served with distinction is a variety of assignments including: patrol officer, explorer advisor, field training officer, canine handler, SWAT operator, crisis negotiator, crime scene investigator, detective, and federal task force officer assigned to the Sonoma County Narcotics Task Force and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Task Force. 

During his first specialty assignment as a canine handler, he and his partner “Oscar” proactively reduced crime by relentlessly pursuing criminals and using his investigative skills to develop complex and serious criminal investigations through to successful prosecution. As a canine handler, he was expected to respond to in-progress and high-risk calls to provide safety for the community and his fellow officers. During this assignment, he confronted a suspect who was armed with a handgun and was in the process of committing numerous armed robberies of convenience stores. His actions in this incident would result in a Medal of Bravery service award and a City Council Proclamation.

Soon after, Officer Garihan pursued a selection to the Field Training Officer Program where his positive influence helped shape new officers to model the values and performance principles of our organization. Not only did he help train new officers, but he also took on the role of Police Explorer Advisor to mentor and positively influence our youth interested in a career in law enforcement, and began serving as an instructor and evaluator at the police academy. 

Not long into his distinguished career, he was selected to the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) Team for his physical fitness, officer safety, and tactical skills. He served on the SWAT team for more than 13 years before he transitioned to the Crisis Negotiations Team, where he capitalized on his excellent communication skills. 

After serving as a canine handler, Officer Garihan was selected to be the Department’s detective assigned to the Sonoma County Narcotics Task Force that would soon evolve into his assignment as a Federal Task Force Officer (TFO) for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Task Force. While specific details about his cases cannot be openly discussed, he was responsible for managing cases that spanned the globe, resulted in hundreds of arrests, and the seizure of millions of dollars in drug money and assets from the proceeds of illegal drugs. His performance and accomplishments in the task force would establish a tradition of excellence that carries on today. 

When he completed his assignment as a TFO, he returned to the Department and was selected to the Investigations Team as a detective. In this assignment, he handled all major crimes and investigations from homicide, cold case homicides, robbery, aggravated assault, sexual assault, crimes against children, elder abuse, kidnapping, and felony property crimes including burglary, embezzlement and fraud. 

In 2015, Detective Garihan was promoted to Sergeant, and in 2021, he was selected to lead the Investigations Team where he currently serves today. 

His letters of commendation from community members, allied agencies, and colleagues span across his entire career and throughout every assignment. Sergeant Garihan has exemplified our performance principles of professionalism, leadership, teamwork, organization excellence, community, and a winning attitude. 

After nearly 28 years of service to the Petaluma community, Sergeant Garihan’s last day will be tomorrow, Friday, August 4. While his experience, sense of humor, and calm and reassuring demeanor in our organization will be greatly missed, we celebrate his distinguished career. 

Please join us in thanking Aaron and his family for their sacrifices and support over the years that allowed Sergeant Garihan to serve this community with dedication and honor.