Lakeville Police Chief Announces Retirement

The City of Lakeville soon will be looking for a new police chief.

The city’s current chief, Thomas Vonhof, announced his retirement from the force in a press release from the City of Lakeville on Tuesday morning.

Vonhof, a Lakeville police officer for 33 years, is stepping down after serving seven years as the city’s top cop. His retirement is effective Oct. 1.

Here is the text of the press release:

Thomas Vonhof, Lakeville’s Police Chief for the past seven years, has announced his retirement effective October 1, 2013. A 33-year veteran of the department, Vonhof began his Law Enforcement career as a Lakeville police officer in 1980.  Over the years, he worked his way up through the ranks and held numerous assignments.  He has served as everything from undercover narcotics investigator and field trainer to the police cable TV show host. He was promoted from officer to sergeant in 1996, to lieutenant in 2000, and to captain in 2004. In these positions, he successfully introduced significant technological advances to each division and led police investigators through two complex homicide investigations.

Vonhof has served as police chief since September 2006 and was formally appointed to the position in 2007.  During his tenure as police chief, Vonhof was involved in the planning and construction of the new Lakeville Police Station and led a number of public safety initiatives including Pure Performance, a youth drug and alcohol prevention program, and Lakeville Heart Restart, a communitywide CPR training program.

“I feel very fortunate to have been here through the city’s tremendous growth. When I started, the city had only fifteen police officers.  Today, the department has sixty-nine dedicated sworn and support staff serving the residents of Lakeville.  I have always felt it has been a privilege to serve my community as a police officer.  It has been an incredible honor for me to have had the opportunity to serve Lakeville and lead this department as the police chief.”

“Chief Vonhof has dedicated his entire career to the men and women of the Lakeville Police Department and to the residents and business owners of Lakeville. Tom is both a leader and mentor to those in his department and to his peers in the City. His many connections in the law enforcement community have helped our department continue to be a leader in law enforcement." said City Administrator, Steve Mielke. “He will be greatly missed.”

The City Council will move quickly to begin the process for replacing Chief Vonhof.