Archive Tucson is the oral history project of Special Collections at the University of Arizona Libraries. This interview is with Peter Ronstadt and it covers the following themes:

Reasons for leaving UA as an undergraduate.

Working on maintaining stock well pumps for family business.

Resuming UA degree while working at TPD.

Decision to pursue police administration in 1970s. Interest in changing officer training: teaching officers about local culture, working with indigenous and Hispanic groups.

Changing shifts and staffing patterns.

Introduction of computers and data analytics.

More non-officers joining Police Department.

Policing in the 1970s. Perceptions of police are national. Interest in greater communication skills.

1980s gang culture, fragmenting of drug organizations, and “war on drugs.” Local Tucson gangs.

Militarization of police and public armament.

Work as police captain.

Tenure as chief of police.

Retirement.

Being a police officer with a famous relative and a well-known local family.

Description of Ronstadt Hardware Company’s store. Decline of downtown and industrial retail.

This interview was recorded on February 10th, 2020 in Tucson, Arizona.