Fond du Lac police chief Bill Lamb is retiring. Lamb announced Friday he will be retiring in May after nearly ten years as chief and 33 years in law enforcement. The City of Fond du Lac Police and Fire Commission will hold a special meeting next week to formally receive Chief Lamb’s retirement notice. Lamb says he was initially planning on retiring at the end of last year, but with the pandemic, civil unrest and violence and other challenges determined it would be best to postpone retirement until the worst of these situations had passed. Lamb says he also wanted to fulfill an obligation to help see the public safety referendum through. Before he was hired as Fond du Lac police chief Lamb served as police chief in the village of North Fond du lac .
Police Chief Bill Lamb retirement letter:
After nearly ten years as the Chief of Police of the City of Fond du Lac Police
Department and following a thirty-three year law enforcement career, I am announcing
that I will be retiring as the Chief of Police of the City of Fond du Lac Police Department in May of this year. Last summer I reached retirement age and I had informed some City officials that I was planning to retire at the end of 2020; however, last year obviously brought with it a global pandemic, extreme civil unrest and violence, and a number of related and very serious challenges for the law enforcement profession. Therefore, I determined that it would be best for the Department and community I have proudly served to postpone retirement until the worst of these situations had passed and we began to return to a state of relative normalcy. Additionally, with the City Council deciding that they would move ahead with the Police and Fire/Rescue staffing referendum in the spring of 2021 election I wanted to fulfill an obligation to help see this very important issue through. Now, as we quickly approach the spring election, and with many of 2020’s challenges mitigated, the time has come to make this announcement.
I have been blessed to experience a Wisconsin law enforcement career that has spanned more than three decades. During that time I have had the honor and privilege to serve two area communities, including the past 20 plus years serving as the Chief of Police for both the Village of North Fond du Lac (2001 – 2011) and, most recently, for the past nearly ten years as the Chief of Police of the City of Fond du Lac (2011 – 2021).
As I reflect back upon my thirty-three year career, I am extraordinarily proud of the many successes and accomplishments that I have been able to be a part of with the Departments I have served and led. During my two decades of service as the Chief of Police, there have always been two things that have contributed to those many successes and accomplishments; great co-workers and an incredible amount of community support.
With both the North Fond du Lac Police Department and City of Fond du Lac Police
Department, I have always been very fortunate to have incredibly dedicated and skilled
people to work alongside in the pursuit of protecting the community. Equally as
important, the level of support that both communities have always provided to the Departments, our people, and to me as the Chief of Police, has been nothing short of awe-inspiring. I will forever be grateful to everyone that has helped and supported both Departments and me.
During the last decade of my career, with the City of Fond du Lac Police Department, we accomplished a number of things that have been truly reflective of our Mission and stated Vision – “To be the law enforcement agency that sets the standard in professional excellence.” In the past several years alone we have attained and set a gold standard in Law Enforcement Accreditation and elevated the use of force, tactical operations capabilities, and active shooter response training and preparedness of our Officers to be amongst the best in the nation. Additionally, we have aggressively and very effectively targeted and shut down a number of criminal organizations and individuals engaged in illegal gun, drug trafficking, and related gang activity in our City; with results so impressive that two members of our Department were recognized and honored last November by United States Attorney General William Barr.
Simply stated, the City of Fond du Lac Police Department has not just “talked the talk”
about our Vision – we have “walked the walk” – and I could not be more proud of every
member of our Department that worked to make all of that possible.
We have also worked tirelessly to ensure that the next generation of leaders is prepared
and ready to step up to take on the many challenges that exist in policing. As I now
prepare to step down from my position as the Chief of Police I am very optimistic and
excited to see what lies ahead for those members of our Department who have been
integral to the successes and accomplishments the Department has achieved, and who
have worked passionately to prepare themselves to lead the Department into the future. We are incredibly blessed to have these individuals who are fiercely dedicated to serving and protecting this community. Needless to say, I can very confidently say that the future of the City of Fond du Lac Police Department will be in very good hands.
The quickly approaching conclusion of this part of my career is a bittersweet one. I have
been a law enforcement officer since I was 20 years old, essentially my entire adult life. I will profoundly miss the day-to-day challenges and the incredible people I am blessed to serve alongside. However, what I will truly miss most is the incredible sense of pride and honor that comes through knowing that I am fulfilling a calling and the sense of duty I have always felt to protect and help others. Nevertheless, as rewarding as it has been, serving as a Chief of Police for twenty plus years has required considerable sacrifices by my family and the time has come for me to make up some of that time with them. In closing, I would like to share a special word of thanks to the citizens of both the Village of North Fond du Lac and City of Fond du Lac for three decades of support. It has been an extreme honor and a privilege to serve you. Thank you!
Chief William B. Lamb
