Education
A native of Tucson, Arizona, Deputy Chief Prieto received her primary and secondary education through the Sunnyside School District, graduating from Desert View High School. She joined the Tucson Police Department in 1999 after receiving her Bachelor of Science in Public Administration from the University of Arizona’s Eller College of Management.
Deputy Chief Prieto has attended executive education training with the Police Executive Research Forum Senior Management Institute for Police. She is also a graduate of Northwestern University’s Center for Public Safety, School of Police Staff and Command, and has completed the Foundations in Public Sector Leadership and the Southwest Leadership Program through the University of Arizona's Eller College of Management.
Experience
Deputy Chief Prieto oversees the Executive Office Bureau, which consists of the Office of Professional Standards, Chief of Staff, Wellness, and Strategic Communications & Policy. She previously oversaw the Investigative Services Bureau.
Deputy Chief Prieto began her career in public safety with the Tucson Police Department in 1999 and has worked in various areas throughout the agency. As an Officer, she worked in the Eastside Patrol Division and held assignments in the Community Response Team and the Street Narcotics Unit.
She promoted to Detective in 2005 and discovered her passion for investigations involving our most vulnerable populations, as she held assignments in both the Child Sexual Abuse Unit and the Adult Sexual Assault Unit. She also served as a Field Training Detective, helping to train newly promoted detectives.
She promoted to Sergeant in 2012 and held assignments within the Westside Patrol Division, the Office of Professional Standards, and the Audit and Best Practices Unit. She promoted to Lieutenant in 2017 and was assigned to the Eastside Patrol Division until becoming the Violent Crimes Section Commander overseeing criminal investigative units, including Homicide, Aggravated Assault, Robbery, and Traffic.
Deputy Chief Prieto promoted to Captain in 2020 and served as the Southside Patrol Division Commander until her promotion to Assistant Chief overseeing the Investigative Services Bureau in February 2022. She was promoted to Deputy Chief in January 2023.