Kadle | Image via FPD’s Facebook page.

The next police chief in “The Friendly City” will be a familiar face, assuming all goes as planned at tonight’s Fortuna City Council meeting.

Lt. Jason Kadle, whose 30-year career in law enforcement includes 24 years with the Fortuna Police Department, has been preliminarily selected as the department’s next chief, City Manager Amy Nilsen tells the Outpost via email. 

The appointment is contingent on both the city and Kadle reaching “mutually agreeable terms,” which is what the council will discuss at tonight’s closed-session hearing. 

Nilsen said she expects an employment agreement to come before the council at its Nov. 16 meeting, with a badge-pinning ceremony planned for Dec. 7.

Should that come to pass, Kadle will become FPD’s 20th chief, succeeding Interim Chief Matthew Eberhardt, who was appointed in March 2025 with plans to leave by the end of this year.