A former corporal in the Kimball Police Department is coming back as the chief.
The Kimball City Council last week approved the choice by Mayor John Morrison of Jose Ruiz as chief, effective June 1st.
He succeeds Andy Bremer, who resigned unexpectedly last month after 7 years when it was learned he and the Kimball department were being investigated for violating a new state law on police training.
The city was accused of allowing trainees to act in a law enforcement capacity without the required training and certifications.
City Council Member Don Muench said hiring Ruiz is a big step forward in “cleaning up this town, getting the drugs out, and making this a safe place for us.”
Muench said he thinks Kimball is on the right track because he’s heard nothing but good things about the 39-year old Ruiz, adding that “good things are happening in Kimball and it’s about time.”
Ruiz was one of two candidates for chief to be interviewed by Mayor Morrison after Bremer’s resignation and he impressed the mayor with his commitment to the Kimball department.
Morrison said Ruiz was more concerned about what the other officers would make than about his own salary, saying he wanted to make sure the pay was high enough to get and keep good people. His salary will start at $88,000 a year.
Ruiz is in his 19th year of law enforcement, beginning from 2004-06 as a security detail member at the Colorado Correctional Facility in Sterling.
He then spent 14 years in Wyoming as a member of the Cheyenne Police Department before coming to Kimball in 2002. He left last September for southwest Nebraska and a position with the Imperial Police Department.
Bad decision. There will be unforeseen repercussions. Stay tuned….