Article updated at 12:50, 1:07 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 11:
A veteran of the Kansas City, Missouri Police Department and the current chief of Warrensburg, Missouri police is the finalist to become the next chief in Lawrence.
Rich Lockhart is the only finalist candidate, Porter Arneill, a spokesperson for the city, confirmed.
The city will hold a reception from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 18 at the Lawrence Public Library for community members to meet Lockhart.
Arneill said the city has not made Lockhart an offer of employment.
City Manager Craig Owens will consult the Lawrence City Commission, staff and residents, but ultimately, Owens is responsible for hiring city employees, Arneill said.
The city underwent a national recruitment effort led by Ralph Andersen Associates, a nationwide executive recruitment firm, according to the city’s news release Thursday.
Here’s his bio, from the news release:
“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 interviews with local, national, and international media.
Chief Lockhart has a master’s degree 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.”
Warrensburg is home to the University of Central Missouri. Its population of about 20,000 is roughly one-fifth that of Lawrence.
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