Casady Retiring After Years of Service To Lincoln

After 45 years of service in law enforcement and to the Lincoln community, Public Safety Director Tom Casady is retiring.

The tweet posted by Lincoln’s Public Safety Director Tom Casady, announcing his retirement after 45 years of service to law enforcement and the city of Lincoln.

On Tuesday, Casady took to Twitter and said, ““Dear Mayor: I’m retiring. My last day at work will be March 13. We’ve done some good things. It’s been fun.”

Casady was first commissioned as a Lincoln Police officer in 1974, but left the department in 1987 to serve as Chief Deputy of the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office, before becoming Sheriff in 1991.

In 1994, then Mayor Mike Johanns appointed Casady to be Lincoln’s Police Chief, where he stayed in that role until 2011 when he was appointed by Mayor Chris Beutler to be Lincoln’s Public Safety Director.

According to the City of Lincoln’s website, Casady was instrumental in reshaping the way the Lincoln Police Department investigates domestic violence, domestic abuse and neglect cases.

On Tuesday, Mayor Chris Beutler released the following statement:

“On behalf of the entire community, I want to thank Tom Casady for his 45-year career in public service. His leadership, hard work, integrity and comprehensive approach to public safety have helped to strengthen our community and keep our crime rate low. Tom has earned an excellent reputation among his peers across the country, and his expertise in using technology to improve public safety has made Lincoln a national leader in that area. His positive impact on our City will continue to be felt for many years.”

Mayoral candidates Jeff Kirkpatrick and Cindy Lamm are both planning to not fill the position left from Casady’s retirement.

Kirkpatrick’s statement said “when I drafted the ordinance to create the Public Safety Director position in 2011, it was because we needed an increase in coordination between the fire department, police department, and 911 emergency center. With the improvements that have been made in the last few years, and with Lincoln’s current strong, experienced police and fire chiefs, having a Public Safety Director is a luxury that we no longer needed. Tom Casady has done a great job in the position and I wish him a long and happy retirement.” Kirkpatrick added that the available funds will be used to add more police officers to the Lincoln Police Department.

Lamm said that if elected she would not fill the position as well. ““While I appreciate Tom Casady’s heart for our city, I do not intend to fill his position as Public Safety Director if I am elected Mayor, the cost of that extra layer of bureaucracy can be better spent by adding more police officers to keep Lincoln safe.”