June 5, 2002
Contact: Mark Anderson (509-963-1493/fax 509-963-2301/e-mail andemark@cwu.edu)
SEATAC, Wash. - Police Chief Rick Kieffer celebrates his 23rd anniversary this week with the Normandy Park Police Department. He’ll mark the occasion by receiving a certificate from the FBI National Academy and a degree from Central Washington University, two awards he would have preferred to possess much sooner.
“These two pieces of paper are punch tickets for police chiefs,” Kieffer says. “If you want to become a police chief or to progress beyond that point, you definitely need a college degree and certificate from the academy.”
Kieffer broke the mold by becoming a police chief without having these vital documents.
“I’ve had about every job within our department that you can imagine,” Kieffer, a police officer since 1979, explains. “And I had the distinction of being the longest-tenured interim police chief. Every time the department was between chiefs, I was asked to fill in.”
With that experience in hand, Normandy Park eventually offered him the full-time position. Even with the job in hand, Kieffer remained interested in getting his degree.
“I’m an avid proponent of training and education for all officers, Kieffer states. “I encourage all of my officers to go to school and feel it’s best to lead by example.”
In the midst of running a police department and serving on a variety of police and community boards, Kieffer enrolled in CWU’s law and justice program in 1996.
“CWU’s program is very well known and respected within my profession,” he says. “And the CWU SeaTac Center was appealing to me because of its proximity to my home.”
After six long years of school, Kieffer will receive his bachelor’s degree this summer.
“I’m probably the busiest police employee in the city. I’m so relieved to be done with school you can’t imagine,” he admits.
Kieffer promises that he and his department are going to celebrate his accomplishments, and he hopes his fellow officers might learn from his experience.
“If I can take the time to get a degree, they can take the time. There are no excuses,” Kieffer, feeling proud and a little wiser, counsels. “On the other hand, don’t do it the way I did it. It just gets harder the longer you wait and, in this business, you simply must have these documents nowadays. So go to school now, while you’re young and have a little more time available.”
