Gerald Grobmeier at the swearing-in ceremony at LPS. (Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko

Gerald Grobmeier sworn in as LPS Deputy Chief

Mar 7, 2022 | 1:10 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – Lethbridge Police has now a new deputy chief.

At a ceremony in the LPS station Monday morning, Gerald Grobmeier was sworn into office.

He comes into the role with 29 years of experience in the world of policing.

Grobmeier has worked with RCMP detachments across Canada and spent four years in Berlin as the liaison officer in charge of international investigations involving Germany, Poland, and Austria.

He was most recently the Superintendent of Red Deer RCMP.

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LPS was able to welcome a small crowd to their station for the ceremony, something that took Grobmeier by surprise given the last two years of COVID-19 restrictions meaning that nothing like this could take place.

So far, he says he is happy to be in Lethbridge and is excited to join LPS.

“It just felt like it was the right time and the right place. We like Alberta. We like this size of the city and the community – it’s where it’s a community where you have everything, but it’s still small enough to feel like home.”

As the deputy chief of police, Grobmeier explains that he is the “eyes and ears for the chief” and will be able to look at LPS as a whole to see what, if any changes, need to be made going forward.

In his first few days and weeks on the job, he will get to know the team and the organization, trying to make himself as familiar as possible with both.

Grobmeier is a name that is familiar to LPS Chief Shahin Mehdizadeh as the two have worked together at various points of their RCMP careers.

Mehdizadeh says it will be great to not have to go through what he calls a “honeymoon period” and get straight into the “marriage” as he knows what Grobmeier is capable of.

“He’s a senior leader and he comes here with a lot of policing experience that we are looking forward to [tapping] into that knowledge and how he can help us, but I’m sure knowing Gerald from past, I know the first order of business for him would be to start looking at getting to know the organization and the people within the organization because that’s the most critical part of leading an organization at a senior level,” says Mehdizadeh.

It was, however, a panel decision with both internal and external input so it was not a decision Mehdizadeh could make on his own.

The ceremony included several speakers such as members of the Police Commission, Police Association, Chaplain, and a blessing, prayer, and song from a Blackfoot elder.