City Manager announces new Chief of Lawrence Kansas Police Department

Porter ArneillCity, City Manager, Human Resources, Police

Lawrence City Manager Craig Owens announced today the hiring of Rich Lockhart as the new Chief of the Lawrence Kansas Police Department.

“We are extremely pleased to welcome Rich to the City of Lawrence,” said Craig Owens, City Manager. “Rich brings a wealth of experience from his previous positions, and we are excited to have him join our team and help us make Lawrence a community where all people feel safe and secure.”

Lockhart previously served a 26-year career with the Kansas City, Missouri police department before retiring in 2016. He then served as the police chief for the Warrensburg, Missouri Police Department before accepting the position with the City of Lawrence.

“I am looking forward to working with the Lawrence community and the members of the Lawrence Police Department,” said Mr. Lockhart. “I want to thank Mr. Owens and the members of the search committee for this incredible opportunity.”

For the position, the City underwent a national recruitment effort led by Ralph Andersen Associates, a nationwide executive recruitment firm.

Lockhart will begin on January 16, 2022.

Contact: Porter Arneill, Director of Communications and Creative Resources – parneill@lawrenceks.org | 785-764-3270

____________________________________________________________________

Rich Lockhart is the police chief for the Warrensburg Police Department. He started with Warrensburg in April 2016 after a 26-year police career with the Kansas City, Missouri Police Department. Chief Lockhart held the rank of major with the KCPD at the time of his retirement, having worked in various assignments within the department, including human resources, patrol, special operations, and research and development. He was the department spokesperson for more than eight years, conducting hundreds of inter-views with local, national, and international media. Chief Lockhart has a master’s de-gree in public administration from the University of Kansas and a bachelor’s degree in biology from Harding University. In his off-duty time, Chief Lockhart enjoys photography and classic cars. He and his wife Laura have seven kids and live in Warrensburg.