COLUMBIA — Columbia Police Capt. Zim Schwartze was appointed the Public Safety Joint Communications director Oct. 6. Schwartze has been acting as the interim director after former director James McNabb resigned last May.
As previously reported in the Missourian, Schwartze has an undergraduate degree in engineering and a master's degree in public administration from MU.
She has been working for the department for 18 years. In 1991, Schwartze began working at the department as a community service aide and in 1992 was promoted to police officer. She was then promoted to police sergeant, and in 2003 became Columbia's first female captain.
Schwartze was one of four finalists for the director of Public Safety Joint Communications, according to a news release from the city.
She will be eligible for retirement under the police pension plan in two years, at which point she can be reassigned in the police department or retire from the department and keep working in joint communications.