Perron resigns in letter sent to 49 staffers as Sedona PD’s strategic plan looms
Sedona Police Department Sgt. Jesus Perron resigned by lengthy email May 26, stating his decision was made “after repeated efforts to grow into the role of sergeant without the structured mentorship, consistent expectations, and developmental support necessary for long-term success.”
Perron submitted his resignation in a 5,666-word email the morning of May 26, sent to 49 SPD staffers, including Police Chief Stephanie Foley, as well as City Manager Anette Spickard, the Human Resources Department and the Front Desk Volunteer email address.
The only SPD staffer seemingly omitted was Acting Patrol Cmdr. Jason Young, who Perron mentions throughout his resignation.
Perron — who joined SPD in August 2019 with two years of prior experience with another law enforcement agency and served SPD as a patrol officer, detective, field training officer and finally sergeant — said his resignation was not financially motivated rather, “because the environment no longer aligns with the leadership, mentorship, and accountability I believe this profession requires.”
Perron wrote that his resignation was not based on a single incident or event, but “a sustained pattern of shifting expectations, inconsistent support, disproportionate scrutiny and criticism that often followed after I acted in good faith based on the information, directives, and responsibilities assigned to me,” citing SPD’s failure to provide newly promoted sergeants with the developmental framework that the department already identified as necessary, but which never put into practice.
Perron wrote that the department itself acknowledged the position required structured development. “I was placed into a new supervisory role without a formal sergeant FTO process, while the person responsible for supervising my development was also carrying significant department-level responsibilities,” Perron wrote, referring to Cmdr. Christopher Dowell, who Perron writes “was also tasked with numerous responsibilities within” SPD, thus “his ability to provide consistent mentorship, shadowing and structured development was limited by the broader demands placed on him.”
Dowell resigned the week of March 11 with his final day of work March 26. Dowell is also a Cottonwood city councilman running for reelection in the July 21 primary election.
As Sergeant Perron was formally promoted to sergeant on June 1, 2025. According to his letter, SPD had identified developmental framework on paper, but there was no meaningful implementation, with Perron writing that 10 days before his one-year anniversary as sergeant, his probation was extended and he was served with a Performance Improvement Plan for deficiencies that the department’s own draft sergeant training program was designed to prevent, identify, coach, document and correct through structured development.”
Perron writes that his shift assignment was also a barrier; he worked every other Wednesday night and Thursday night through Sunday morning. Command staff and SPD administration, he noted, generally worked Monday through Thursday, leaving by approximately 6 p.m., when Perron’s shift began.
“In practical terms, I was expected to develop as a new sergeant while working largely outside the hours where structured mentorship and command-level guidance were most available,” he wrote.
Perron’s letter details 20 specific incidents he writes that illustrate a pattern of shifting expectations, inconsistent support and scrutiny, particularly after Young assumed an acting command role in mid-March 2026. The bulk of the resignation email, 3,622 words, detail these specific incidents, dating from March 14 through May 20, 2026, referencing Young in 16 of the 20 incidents.
Systemic Issues
Perron’s letter closes by writing that the Sedona public has already seen “the articles, the social media disputes, the years of senior-level internal fighting and the attrition,” adding “It does not take a commissioned study to identify the source of dysfunction inside an organization when the pattern has already been visible for years. When senior leadership spends years consumed by internal conflict, self-preservation, and crisis management instead of developing, mentoring, supporting, and retaining officers, the outcome becomes predictable. The organization loses stability, institutional knowledge, trust and future leaders.”
He warned remaining officers, dispatchers and professional staff to not accept quiet, private support from leadership as a substitute for support when difficult decisions under pressure are questioned publicly.
“Leadership cannot ask employees to make difficult decisions, operate under pressure and carry organizational risk, while only offering support privately after the fact,” he wrote.
After Perron’s resignation, Young reportedly sent to officers an email, circulating in the department, in which he notes he was not sent the resignation, but that he was saddened and disappointed in Perron’s choice, asking SPD officers to put their interactions in context.
Foley also emailed staff, writing she was saddened that Perron used a department-wide email to voice his concerns, calling it unprofessional, but offering to meet with any staffer with concerns about issues in Perron’s email. Foley added that SPD is nearing the end of the strategic plan process — which will be presented to council on Tuesday, June 9 — and that it includes a formal training program for new sergeants.
