Officials in Iowa City will be looking for a new police chief. Sam Hargadine today announced his retirement, effective June 30. The 57-year-old Hargadine has led the Iowa City Police Department for nearly 11 years.
“It was a good run, but I’m ready to try the next challenge and open the next chapter of my life,” Hargadine told Radio Iowa. That next challenge? Hargadine will become executive director of the Iowa Police Chief’s Association in August.
That organization just recently presented Hargadine with its “Police Chief of the Year” award. “It was a great honor,” Hargadine said. “To be recognized by them…it was very humbling.” Hargadine has served on the board of directors for the Iowa Police Chief’s Association the past seven years. That was a volunteer position.
Now, as the group’s executive director, he’ll be paid to serve as the primary voice for police chiefs and sheriffs in the state and work closely with Iowa legislators. Hargadine moved to Iowa City in 2005. Prior to that, he spent 20 years with his hometown police department in Columbia, Missouri.