WATCH: Memorial service held for Chula Vista Police Assistant Chief Phil Collum

Amber Coakley
·2 min read
1

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — A memorial service is being held Saturday to honor and remember the late Chula Vista Police Assistant Chief Phil Collum.

The department announced his passing on Friday, April 12, stating he had succumbed to a short battle with a rare form of cancer. They said he was surrounded by his family and friends, including his husband, William Lopez.

Saturday’s service will be held at Eastlake Church, located at 2355 Otay Lakes Rd., at 10 a.m. The public is welcome to attend.

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A livestream of the service can be viewed through the police department’s YouTube page.

About Assistant Chief Phil Collum

Chula Vista Police Department Assistant Chief Phil Collum passes away from cancer (Photo courtesy: Chula Vista Police Department)
Chula Vista Police Department Assistant Chief Phil Collum passes away from cancer (Photo courtesy: Chula Vista Police Department)

— Collum was a graduate of California’s prestigious Command College (Class 58) and the FBI National Academy (Class 278).

— Collum began his 29-year law enforcement career in college in 1990, serving as a Community Service Officer in Santa Cruz, California.

— Collum became a police officer for the Santa Cruz Police Department before moving back to the San Diego area in 1994, starting at the Chula Vista Police Department that October.

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— During his career at the Chula Vista Police Department, Collum served in many roles. He was also a trailblazer, becoming the police department’s first African American Police Lieutenant in 2009, Police Captain in 2018, and Assistant Chief of Police in 2022, the police department said.

— Collum served as the liaison for the United Way, a liaison for the San Diego Gay & Lesbian Parade, a board member for the California Peace Officers Association (CPOA), a member of the California Police Chiefs Association, and a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police.

–Outside of his role as a police officer, Collum served on the Board of Directors and volunteered at his church, along with traveling south of the border every month to support orphanages in
Tijuana, Mexico, as part of the Corazón de Vida Foundation.

FOX 5’s Anna Ashcraft contributed to this report.

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