COLUMBIA – Columbia Police Capt. Tom Dresner was selected to fill the new deputy police chief position, Chief Kenneth Burton announced in a statement on Tuesday.
Dresner served as the Columbia Police Department's interim police chief after Randy Boehm retired in July. Dresner stepped down after Burton was sworn in on March 30.
Calls to Dresner and Burton seeking comment were not returned Tuesday.
The second-in-command position is common in most police departments and would help alleviate the power gap between the police chief and the captains, Burton said in an interview with the Missourian last week. Burton said he was looking for a deputy chief who could "think globally" and "act as a trusted confidant to bounce ideas off of."
Dresner will receive an annual salary of $99,682, the release said.
A 24-year veteran of the Columbia Police Department and a graduate of MU's journalism school, Dresner oversaw the administrative support division in the decade before his term as interim police chief. His supervision responsibilities included evidence, fleet maintenance, criminal records and computer operations. Dresner has also worked as a patrol officer, a detective in the Property Crimes unit, a supervisor of the Personnel Development Unit and commander of Columbia's SWAT team.
The deputy police chief position was eliminated by then-Chief Norman Botsford after Deputy Police Chief Dennis Veach retired in 1997.
Dresner is expected to begin the new position on Wednesday.