David Selvidge took command of the Pleasant Prairie Police Department on Jan. 19, 2026, succeeding longtime Chief David Smetana. He came from Chandler, Arizona, after a 25-year career that included SWAT command, K-9 operations and tactical instruction, and he is a graduate of the FBI National Academy.
Selvidge says his first nine months have focused on listening and learning before deciding what needed to change, and he credits the department's officers and civilian employees for its continued success. He says progress in that time belongs to the whole organization, not to him individually.
Village President Dave Klimisch gave the chief high marks, saying Selvidge has performed very well and met expectations. Klimisch said the chief has built relationships inside the department, communicates expectations clearly and explains the reasoning behind decisions, and that feedback from officers has been consistently positive.
One of the department's most visible additions under Selvidge is the Grappler Police Bumper, a vehicle-mounted device that deploys a heavy-duty net around a fleeing vehicle's rear tire to bring it to a controlled stop. Pleasant Prairie is the second agency in Wisconsin to get the technology, after Monona, and Selvidge knew it from his years in Arizona.
The chief said the device has already been used successfully in several incidents, including a stop of a vehicle traveling about 50 to 60 mph and another where officers used it before suspects could flee. He said officers must have probable cause and the right circumstances to deploy it, that a replacement net effectively costs about $400 after a return credit, and that Grappler representatives have trained several Pleasant Prairie officers as instructors so the department can train its own personnel.
