CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — Col. Jeffrey S. Katz, chief of the Chesterfield County Police Department, will be retiring on May 1 following over six years of service.
According to a press release from Chesterfield County, Katz will be leaving the department to take on a role with the FBI. He will be assigned to the Training Division’s Leadership Development Unit, tasked with training senior law enforcement and agents at the FBI Academy in Prince William County.
Katz called serving Chesterfield since January 2018 an honor, but expressed excitement at beginning this new chapter in life.
“At this juncture in my life, it’s time to give back to a profession I so deeply respect and this new role will give me an opportunity to do that from the broadest possible platform,” Katz said in the release. “I plan to use what we have built in Chesterfield as a benchmark example of what can be accomplished in local policing and help others answer the call for leadership in their communities.”
His friends and colleagues will sorely miss him, with County Administrator Joe Casey calling him the “missing ingredient” the county needed during his years of service.
A committee comprised of no more than five people will recommend a new chief to the Board of Supervisors in accordance with the county charter, according to the release. The committee members will include the County Administrator, Casey, and four others:
- A member of the Board of Supervisors
- A citizen appointed by the chief judge of the Circuit Court, cannot be a member of the department
- A person appointed by the Board of Supervisors with police experience
- A person appointed by the Board of Supervisors, cannot be either an elected or appointed county official
Katz will continue his duties with the department until March 31, then take a month of absence through April, according to the release. In the interim, Deputy Chief of Strategic Management Lt. Col. Brad Badgerow will act as chief.
