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June 4, 2009

Cop retires proud of his firsts

BY BRIAN L. HUCHEL

DANVILLE — For Bob Richard, a lot of firsts can be connected — both personally and professionally — with his work as a Danville police officer.

It was his first job coming out of school, hired originally as a cadet before being sworn in as an officer in 1976.

He was involved in the first police investigation to call upon the use of DNA evidence and both Richard and police Deputy Director Doug Miller were the first officers in Danville to chemically test cannabis to alleviate state crime lab case loads. Richard also very much involved in the computerization of the department’s records department.

Richard’s string of firsts with the city police ended this week as the 30-plus-year member of the force retired to take on a new job as executive director of the Danville Public Schools Foundation. He began his new position Tuesday.

Richard worked a majority of his career on the administrative side of the department, a portion at which he excelled. He added he was fortunate, overall, to get the chance to work in almost all aspects of the department.

Working more than 30 years as a police officer, however, wasn’t Richard’s goal while in school. In fact, he planned on becoming a draftsman while attending North Ridge Middle School. But when he had to write a report about working as an adult, being a draftsman didn’t seem exciting enough. So he picked his older brother’s goal at the time — police officer.

Richard’s report received attention from the police chief at the time, and he joined a new police Explorer post for four years. That snowballed into becoming an officer and erased his thoughts of becoming a draftsman.

“It wouldn’t have been half as much fun as being a policeman,” he said. “It has got to be the greatest job in the world.”

He said few jobs actually allow you to go home at night saying you’ve helped out your city.

“It’s the one career that when you get down, you can really say I’ve made a difference in community,” he said.

The retirement of Richard leaves a hole in the administrative level of the police division of the Department of Public Safety, with Miller as the only remaining deputy director.

According to Richard, few of the accomplishments he attained in his career came without help, ranging from his former chiefs to the police officers and shift commanders currently on staff.

“They are the ones that keep the streets safe and working toward our mission to make sure Danville is a great place to live and a great community to pursue and education,” he said. “I give them all the credit. I was a support person for them throughout the years.”

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