Captain David Burghart Appointed Assistant Chief

Chief Peter Newsham is pleased to announce the promotion of Captain David Burghart to the rank of Major, serving as one of three sworn assistant chiefs for the department. This selection follows the recent retirement of Major Jacques Poirier.

Major Burghart grew up in the Stafford County/Fredericksburg area and has more than 24 years of law enforcement experience beginning his career with the Prince William County Police Department in 2001 where he first served as a patrol officer assigned to the eastern district in the Operations Division. In 2008, Burghart was promoted to the first-line supervisor ranks holding multiple assignments including patrol, the traffic unit, and special victims. 

Promoted to command-level ranks in 2015, Burghart has served as a watch commander in operations, the bureau commander of youth services, a deputy director at the Public Safety Training Center, and as the Chief of Staff for the Office of the Chief. In 2021, Burghart was promoted to the rank of captain, serving as the commander of the Office of Professional Standards and most recently as the Western District Commander in operations.

Major Burghart previously served on the Department’s Incident Management Team, Underwater Search & Rescue Team, and Command Post Team. He has a master’s degree in military history from American Public University.

Burghart is a graduate of the FBI National Academy (FBINA); the Police Executive Research Forum’s Senior Management Institute for Police (SMIP) at Boston University; University of Virginia’s Leading, Educating, and Developing Program (LEAD); the Professional Executive Leadership School (PELS) at the University of Richmond; the Institute for Leadership in Changing Times (ILCT) at Virginia Polytechnic Institute; and the Center for the Constitution at Montpelier-Seminar for Law Enforcement on Constitution Principles.

Effective January 2, 2026, Major Burghart will assume his new role as the Assistant Chief of the Operations Division overseeing the Patrol Services Bureau, including all three police districts, and the Special Operations Bureau.