During a standing-room-only city council meeting Thursday night, Ron Lawrence was officially sworn in as the new chief of police in Citrus Heights.
Lawrence was administered the oath by former police chief and current city manager Chris Boyd, pledging to uphold the Constitution and faithfully perform his duties as the City’s new police chief. The ceremony included a presentation involving the Citrus Heights Police Department’s Honor Guard, and the chief’s new badge was pinned on him during the event by his wife, Jennifer.
“[CHPD] is bar none, one of the most fantastic police department’s I have ever, ever experienced,” Lawrence told council members, reflecting on his first few days on the job since taking over as police chief on Oct. 31. The 46-year-old said he looked forward to the next 10 years of the department and said the challenge for him will be writing “the next chapter” of CHPD, following the first decade of leadership by Chief Boyd who Lawrence said has been a personal mentor.
Notable attendees at the Nov. 10 ceremony included state Senator Jim Nielsen and representatives from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, California Highway Patrol, and the California Police Chiefs Association (Cal Chiefs). Police chiefs from the cities of Roseville, Walnut Creek, Truckee, Elk Grove, Folsom, Auburn, and elsewhere, also attended the ceremony.
The event also included a well-attended 6 p.m. reception for the chief, held in the city hall foyer just prior to the swearing-in ceremony.
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As previously reported on The Sentinel, Lawrence began his career in law enforcement in 1989 and is a graduate of the FBI National Academy. He also teaches criminal justice and criminology as an adjunct professor at William Jessup University in Rocklin and holds a masters degree in leadership and a bachelor of arts in criminal justice.
Lawrence additionally serves as the 3rd vice president of Cal Chiefs, putting him on track to serve as the Association’s president in 2019.
He currently lives in Rocklin along with his wife and three children, who are in middle school and high school.
>>Learn more about Chief Lawrence: “Q&A with Ron Lawrence, incoming Citrus Heights police chief”
