Patch    

Leibold

Contact the Chief at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

 

Chief Joe Leibold started his police career with the Guttenberg Iowa Police Department before being hired at the Waterloo Police Department by Chief Bernal Koehrsen in 1990.  In Waterloo he began his career assigned to the Patrol Division working primarily 2nd Shift (3PM to 11PM).  During his time on patrol, he was selected as a Field Training Officer.  He had the privilege of working with and training many current and former officers.  

In 1995 Chief Leibold moved to the Investigations Division where he worked a variety of criminal investigations, including sexual assault and homicide cases.    Working alongside a variety of experience Investigators helped Chief Leibold expand his knowledge of policing and criminal investigations. In 1998 Chief Leibold was reassigned to the Patrol Unit and returned to Field Training.   

After returning to Patrol Chief Koehrsen promoted Chief Leibold to Sergeant.   As a Sergeant, he worked in Patrol, Crime Lab and Investigations before being promoted to Lieutenant by Chief Thomas Jennings in 2004.   Taking on these leadership/supervisory challenges were instrumental in forming his supervisory style.

As a Lieutenant, Chief Leibold returned to 2nd Watch Patrol and worked with many fine officers, some of whom continue to serve in many capacities within the organization today.   Chief Leibold was reassigned from Patrol to the Internal Affairs Unit.  As the Lieutenant of Internal Affairs, Chief Leibold recruited and conducted background investigations on police officers and met with many community organizations to work on best practices for the Waterloo Police Department.  He served in this position up until he was promoted to Captain in 2008.  

As a Captain, Chief Leibold was assigned to the Administrative Division where he worked on budgeting, training and records.   This exposed him to the budgeting process and provided him, for the first time in his career, the opportunity to supervise civilian personnel.   After 3 years in the Administrative Division Chief Trelka assigned Chief Leibold as the Patrol Division Commander.  He served as the Patrol Division Commander until being placed in the position of Patrol Commander / Captain of Police Services in 2012.  

The role of Captain of Police Services/Major/Patrol Commander placed Chief Leibold as the Operations Officer for the Department.   He further expanded his knowledge of budgeting, staffing and overall department operations.   This also increased his work with community groups, other city departments and many elected officials.   

In 2018 Chief Leibold was moved to the Investigations Commander/Chief Operations Officer and Public Information Officer.   This change in duties brought the opportunity to work with the Investigations Division and Media on a more frequent basis.   

In 2020 Chief Fitzgerald adjusted the structure of the Command Staff and further changed Chief Leibold's role to that of Assistant Police Chief.   In this role Chief Leibold expanded his knowledge of the department, worked more closely with elected officials and other department heads to further the public safety mission.  

In November of 2022, Mayor Quentin Hart appointed Chief Leibold to his current position of Police Chief.    Chief Leibold has been honored to serve the community for more than 30 years and is appreciative of the relationship opportunities being a police officer has afforded him.  

Chief Leibold is a graduate of the Federal Bureau of Investigations National Academy #235 and the Law Enforcement Executive Development Seminar (LEEDS) #74, both held at Quantico Virginia.