A Ripon Police Department veteran of 13 years, Lt. Ed Ormonde, 37, was elevated to the chief’s position at the opening of the city’s regular City Council session Tuesday night.
Ormonde’s wife Kim pinned her husband’s badge on his chest after longtime officer Sharon Johnson helped him into his uniform jacket with the stars of his office on the shoulders.
Ormonde has served as interim police chief for nearly six months after the August retirement of Chief Richard Bull. The retired chief continued to serve as a consultant while council members weighed the merits of bringing a new chief in from outside the community or making use of the known talent within the department.
A packed chamber witnessed the pinning ceremony and watched as Mayor Red Nutt – also a former chief – offered encouragement and congratulations to the new head of the department.
Chief Ormonde first went on patrol the end of July in 1998 for five years, working his way up to sergeant and then to the rank of lieutenant. He noted that he has worked every shift during his tenure. He worked a lot of graveyard shifts with Nate Shannon as his beat partner.
“Since I’ve been here I have seen gradual increments of things going in the right direction in positive ways whether dealing with crime prevention, criminal activities or interaction with the general public,” he said.
Ormonde cited his department as a good department – a healthy department – saying he had no interest in moving into another agency in another city as a step up. He said he has been happy in Ripon over the years having grown up in a small town.
“I think that I can relate to different personality types – so I think that is a benefit. I’m not at an age where I am set in my ways, and I’m always willing to listen and accept new ideas – and I think that is a positive. I’m not locked into a set way of thinking. If someone comes up with a new and improved way we should be doing things – by all means – let’s move forward and let’s progress,” Ormonde said.
Ormonde is married to Kim and has four children, Morgan, 15; Desrey, 13; Dillon, 10; and David, 8.
“It’s good to be happy – even sometimes when the work gets to you – or you go to a call and that gets to you – you always know you are going to be able to get through it and you have a support system. And, even at home, you have someone you can really talk to and really communicate with – that not only understands, but who is also sympathetic – and you’ve got good people you work with too,” he said.
He added that in working with the members of the department for over a dozen years, he knows their personalities and how they are going to react to certain situations pulling from their strengths and helping them through their weaknesses.
“I think that is an advantage that a small department has in having people who care about each other and who want to help each other,” the chief said.
“The department has had a long line of leaders who have been known for their honesty and their integrity. There’s an expectation to carry on the legacy of those leaders of the department and of the city; and I’m hoping to fulfill those expectations and keep us on the path where we continue progressing in technology and growing more within the community and still provide that safe secure city that our citizens have learned to relish and enjoy,” Ormonde said.
During his interim period, Ormonde and his sergeants have given a rebirth to the “Area of Responsibilities” program within the community that was launched some nine years ago. Officers had been interacting with their neighborhoods on their computers and in person, but there was nothing formal and uniform that had been set up.
“Giving it some structure and giving the public the opportunity to come in and talk, we put the officers who were responsible in addressing concerns in those areas in contact with the public. We’re trying to get back some of the small town flavor that we may have lost over the years,” he said.
The department currently has an ongoing open house series in the squad room with residents from each of the city’s four beat sections of the community to better interact with the officers serving in and around their homes. The second of those monthly night meetings is set for the evening of February 9.
All too often members of the community would only see officers when they were a victim, a witness or a suspect, Ormonde noted. Talking to an officer doesn’t have to be just about a crime a citizen is reporting, but it should also be about low level interaction with a patrolman.
Ormonde said the department is planning to update its “business watch” program, as well, to get the officers into the businesses in two phases. One involves when store fronts are closed for officers to get out of their cars to check doors, windows, and make sure they are secure. The second is a notification system to advise local businesses of crime trends whether it be counterfeit, forgeries, thefts or vandalisms.
“That program was already in effect, but we had to make some modifications due to current technology issues. The program was initially put in place by Chief Bull in 2001,” he said.
Asked about his early years, Ormonde said he grew up in Denair where he lived on a family dairy farm. At 12, it was his chore to saddle up a horse and bring the cows in for milking. That was before he went to work as a teen in the local grocery store over a period of four years before joining the Air Force and becoming an F-15 jet fighter aircraft crew chief that gave way to a related assignment that oversaw major maintenance and repair work.
Ormonde’s wife Kim pinned her husband’s badge on his chest after longtime officer Sharon Johnson helped him into his uniform jacket with the stars of his office on the shoulders.
Ormonde has served as interim police chief for nearly six months after the August retirement of Chief Richard Bull. The retired chief continued to serve as a consultant while council members weighed the merits of bringing a new chief in from outside the community or making use of the known talent within the department.
A packed chamber witnessed the pinning ceremony and watched as Mayor Red Nutt – also a former chief – offered encouragement and congratulations to the new head of the department.
Chief Ormonde first went on patrol the end of July in 1998 for five years, working his way up to sergeant and then to the rank of lieutenant. He noted that he has worked every shift during his tenure. He worked a lot of graveyard shifts with Nate Shannon as his beat partner.
“Since I’ve been here I have seen gradual increments of things going in the right direction in positive ways whether dealing with crime prevention, criminal activities or interaction with the general public,” he said.
Ormonde cited his department as a good department – a healthy department – saying he had no interest in moving into another agency in another city as a step up. He said he has been happy in Ripon over the years having grown up in a small town.
Says age will help him in job
The new chief said that because of his age he believes he can better relate to the different generations within the department. “I think that I can relate to different personality types – so I think that is a benefit. I’m not at an age where I am set in my ways, and I’m always willing to listen and accept new ideas – and I think that is a positive. I’m not locked into a set way of thinking. If someone comes up with a new and improved way we should be doing things – by all means – let’s move forward and let’s progress,” Ormonde said.
Ormonde is married to Kim and has four children, Morgan, 15; Desrey, 13; Dillon, 10; and David, 8.
“It’s good to be happy – even sometimes when the work gets to you – or you go to a call and that gets to you – you always know you are going to be able to get through it and you have a support system. And, even at home, you have someone you can really talk to and really communicate with – that not only understands, but who is also sympathetic – and you’ve got good people you work with too,” he said.
He added that in working with the members of the department for over a dozen years, he knows their personalities and how they are going to react to certain situations pulling from their strengths and helping them through their weaknesses.
“I think that is an advantage that a small department has in having people who care about each other and who want to help each other,” the chief said.
“The department has had a long line of leaders who have been known for their honesty and their integrity. There’s an expectation to carry on the legacy of those leaders of the department and of the city; and I’m hoping to fulfill those expectations and keep us on the path where we continue progressing in technology and growing more within the community and still provide that safe secure city that our citizens have learned to relish and enjoy,” Ormonde said.
Areas of responsibilities
During his interim period, Ormonde and his sergeants have given a rebirth to the “Area of Responsibilities” program within the community that was launched some nine years ago. Officers had been interacting with their neighborhoods on their computers and in person, but there was nothing formal and uniform that had been set up.
“Giving it some structure and giving the public the opportunity to come in and talk, we put the officers who were responsible in addressing concerns in those areas in contact with the public. We’re trying to get back some of the small town flavor that we may have lost over the years,” he said.
The department currently has an ongoing open house series in the squad room with residents from each of the city’s four beat sections of the community to better interact with the officers serving in and around their homes. The second of those monthly night meetings is set for the evening of February 9.
All too often members of the community would only see officers when they were a victim, a witness or a suspect, Ormonde noted. Talking to an officer doesn’t have to be just about a crime a citizen is reporting, but it should also be about low level interaction with a patrolman.
Ormonde said the department is planning to update its “business watch” program, as well, to get the officers into the businesses in two phases. One involves when store fronts are closed for officers to get out of their cars to check doors, windows, and make sure they are secure. The second is a notification system to advise local businesses of crime trends whether it be counterfeit, forgeries, thefts or vandalisms.
“That program was already in effect, but we had to make some modifications due to current technology issues. The program was initially put in place by Chief Bull in 2001,” he said.
Asked about his early years, Ormonde said he grew up in Denair where he lived on a family dairy farm. At 12, it was his chore to saddle up a horse and bring the cows in for milking. That was before he went to work as a teen in the local grocery store over a period of four years before joining the Air Force and becoming an F-15 jet fighter aircraft crew chief that gave way to a related assignment that oversaw major maintenance and repair work.
