The Lethbridge Police Service announced that it has hired a new deputy chief of police, who will join the force in March.
Gerald Grobmeier will assume the role while transitioning from working with RCMP to LPS.
Grobmeier has 28 years of national and international service with the RCMP, most recently as superintendent in charge of the Red Deer detachment.
“Gerald’s vast experience, his ability to lead through change, his dedication to relationship building, and the vision he brings to surveillance make him an ideal candidate to join our team,” Chief Shahin Mehdizadeh said in a press release Wednesday.
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“The fact that you come from a similarly sized community, with many of the same issues and challenges that we face in Lethbridge, will also be a significant benefit as we engage in strategic planning for the next four years,” he added.
Mehdizadeh and Grobmeier have worked together in the past when they were both members of the RCMP. LPS said their familiarity is expected to help speed up the transition.
Grobmeier has served in detachments throughout Canada and spent four years in Berlin as a liaison officer in charge of all international investigations involving Germany, Poland and Austria.
The new assistant principal has a BA in Sociology from the University of Regina and has completed a number of leadership and executive development programs.
“I am honored to join the Lethbridge Police Service and look forward to working with the many community partners of the organization to further our relationship,” Grobmeier said in the press release.
“Lethbridge is a great city and my wife and I, along with our two dogs, are excited to make it our new home and become part of the community.”
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Mehdizadeh said a dozen applications for the position came in and the best candidate for the position was highlighted.
“This was a national search and it was open to anyone who wanted to participate and compete in it.
“We weren’t really looking at the inner and outer verses, we were just looking at the right person, the right person.”
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