Police Chief Kilgore departs...Interim Chief Nelson is on the job!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                        

CONTACT: Mary Gourley
Assistant City Manager/Sebastopol City Clerk
mgourley@cityofsebastopol.org
(707) 823-1153

LIEUTENANT RON NELSON TO BE NAMED SEBASTOPOL INTERIM CHIEF OF POLICE FOLLOWING DEPARTURE OF CHIEF KEVIN KILGORE
Kilgore to join City of Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety 

SEBASTOPOL, Calif., August 10, 2022— Sebastopol City Manager Larry McLaughlin today announces that Lieutenant Ron Nelson will be appointed Interim Chief of Police upon the departure of Chief Kevin Kilgore, who will join Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety as Deputy Chief later this month. Lieutenant Nelson has almost thirty years of experience in law enforcement including twenty-two years with the Santa Rosa Police Department. Upon retirement from Santa Rosa, he was recruited and hired by the Sebastopol Police Department (SPD) as an Interim Lieutenant in September 2020. He has overseen the SPD Operations Division since being hired and has worked in partnership with Chief Kilgore since February 2021 when Kilgore was brought on as Chief of Police. He has also served as the Acting Police Chief on several occasions when Chief Kilgore was absent.
 
City Manager Larry McLaughlin stated, “We have a great group of dedicated officers and staff at the Sebastopol Police Department, and I’m pleased that we can make a seamless transition as Chief Kilgore leaves us. Lieutenant Nelson has a wealth of experience both inside and outside of our department and is a well-respected leader in the community. We’re grateful that he’s stepping up as Interim Chief of Police. We thank Chief Kilgore for his service with us over the past year and a half. I know I speak for our staff and City Council when I say that we wish Kevin the best in his new endeavor.” 
 
In his resignation letter, Kilgore stated that the decision to leave the Sebastopol Police Department [was] not easy and continued, “I am proud to say that I was your Chief of Police, and I am proud to have been a part of the Sebastopol Police Department and the City of Sebastopol.”