COLUMBIA — Columbia police Chief Randy Boehm has applied for the job of chief of security for University Hospitals and Clinics, a move that could end his 31-year involvement with the department.
Boehm said he wasn’t really looking for someplace else to go. “I’m happy doing what I’m doing,” he said.
But he said there were financial considerations in the decision to change jobs. As chief of security, he would make between $55,000 and $82,700, he said. Although as police chief, Boehm makes $100,000 a year.
He has been eligible for retirement for the past 11 years.
When the job with the hospital presented itself, Boehm said he was interested because it’s “a law enforcement-related” job in Columbia. He and his wife love Columbia and want to remain here, he said.
“You have to look at the opportunities that present themselves,” he said.
Boehm denied that his decision to apply for another job had anything to do with the Citizen Oversight Committee, which has been taking a close look at the department’s handling of citizen complaints.
“Certainly there are some frustrations involved in having to defend ourselves,” Boehm said, “but we understand that we are a public agency and we have to answer to the public.”
He said the police department has been very cooperative with the citizen review board and will continue to be.
Boehm joined the department as an officer in October 1976. He rose through the ranks and was named police chief in 2000. On Dec. 18, 2002, Boehm was named Missouri Police Chief of the Year by the Missouri Police Chiefs Association.
Later that year, he helped establish the Columbia Police Foundation, a tax-exempt organization to provide support for the department through events and major gifts. He has also been involved with the Special Olympics.
If Boehm does decide to leave the department, it is not clear who will succeed him.