After a decade of serving Raymore, police Chief Jan Zimmerman will retire later this year, setting the stage for the city’s search for a new police chief.

City Manager Jim Feuerborn recently announced that Raymore is setting the wheels in motion to find a new chief of police for Raymore. Jan Zimmerman, Raymore’s current chief of police, announced earlier that she will be retiring from the department in August.

“As our community continues to grow and change, we are looking for a collaborative, forward-thinking leader to serve as our next chief of police,” Feuerborn said in a statement. “This individual will not only continue the department’s success, but build on its excellence and lead our officers in a way that embodies public service.”

The city will begin with an internal process. Raymore is partnering with the Missouri Police Chiefs Association and several community partners in the region to review qualified candidates within the department.

Feuerborn said he hopes to be able to name the next chief of police later this summer.

From dispatcher to chief

Zimmerman’s career in law enforcement began more than 40 years ago in Kansas City.

She joined the Kansas City Missouri Police Department in 1979 as a police dispatcher before being sworn in as an officer in 1982. After more than 30 years with the department, Zimmerman left the KCPD as a major in 2012 to take on a new role as the chief of police for the Raymore Police Department.

Zimmerman’s career also includes being a board member for the Greater Kansas City Public Safety Credit Union since 2012. She is also the director of the Kansas City Metropolitan Crime Commission’s Surviving Spouse and Family Endowment Fund (SAFE). According to its website, SAFE “provide(s) the comfort of financial support for the surviving spouses and dependents or, in their absence, the parents of sworn law enforcement officers, firefighters and emergency services personnel who lose their life in the performance of their duties.”

Last year, Gov. Mike Parson appointed Zimmerman to the Missouri Gaming Commission. Established in 1993, the commission regulates riverboat casinos, charitable gaming (i.e. bingo) and fantasy sports.

Zimmerman is certified by the Peace Officers Standards and Training Commission and has completed the Executive Leadership Program at the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s National Academy.

She has earned numerous awards for her service to the community, including four Meritorious Service Awards, five Special Unit Citations, and the Chamber of Commerce “Home Town Hero” President’s Award. Zimmerman attended Park University where she earned a Bachelor of Science in criminal justice and a Master of Science in Public Administration.

Her proudest accomplishment is her family; husband KCPD Deputy Chief David Zimmerman (Ret), daughters Jackie and Britt, granddaughters Elise and Michele and grandson Owen.