Mayor's Corner: Congratulations Chief Kevin Fischer
In Lakewood, we all benefit from the highly skilled, professional, and dedicated servants in our public safety forces who do so much for us all. We have also had a history of great leadership in our safety forces, and I was excited to recently swear in someone well suited to continue that tradition – Police Chief Kevin Fischer.
Chief Fischer is long-time veteran of the Lakewood Police Department (LPD) who has spent his entire career serving our residents and keeping the public safe. Starting off as a patrolman in 1999, Chief Fischer has risen through the ranks over time, and has been in leader roles for over a decade, first serving as a sergeant and then lieutenant prior to taking on his new role.
In determining who would succeed our prior chief, Kevin Kauchek, the City conducted a civil service examination process that identified multiple qualified candidates for final evaluation. Chief Fischer rose to the top of a very talented group. Having high caliber candidates like Chief Fischer within our department is no surprise – over time, LPD has established a great culture and a recruited a deep pool of leaders waiting in the wings.
Our new chief brings with him a wealth of experience and a passion for exploring ways to build and enhance the way Lakewood does police work. He has served as the head of LPD’s Training Division and led the Narcotics and Vice Unit. Chief Fischer also has experience as both a Neighborhood Officer and a Motorcycle Officer.
One aspect of Chief Fischer’s background that shows his mindset for innovation is his status as the first member of LPD to receive formal training and certification as a Crisis Intervention Officer. He achieved that accreditation nearly a decade ago, and since then has helped lead the way by integrating crisis intervention methods to LPD. One of his goals is to continue adding more and more officers to the ranks of those officially qualified with the crisis intervention designation.
Chief Fischer’s ties to our Lakewood community run deep – he grew up in Lakewood, is a proud graduate of Lakewood High School, and remains a Lakewood resident to this day. I look forward to working with Chief Fischer to keep Lakewood safe and to continue enhancing the methods and tools LPD draws upon to deliver top notch service to our residents and the public. When you see the Chief out and about, I encourage you to say hello and welcome him to his new role.