Schlueter says ‘farewell’ after 29 years

NEW LONDON – After 29 years of serving the city of New London as a member of the New London Police Department, the last 15 years as police chief, Jeffrey Schlueter officially retired from the department March 14.
It’s a career that almost didn’t happen, as Schlueter said he originally went to college at the University of Minnesota to study mechanical engineering.
“I just didn’t feel like that was going to be my career goal, my career path that I wanted to take, so I started switching my majors up and eventually graduated with a double major from the University of Minnesota,” said Schlueter. “One major was political science. The other major was called Law, Criminology, and Deviance.”
After a short stint working in law enforcement in Minneapolis, Schlueter found his way back to his hometown of New London. He was hired as a patrol officer for the New London Police Department in January 1996.
“The timing was just right. They had a vacancy open,” said Schlueter.

Schlueter eventually was promoted to sergeant of the night shift, and was named police chief of the department in 2009.
“It was in the back of my mind that maybe someday I could work my way through the ranks (to become police chief) and have the possibility to help the department grow and develop and create a good foundation for future leaders to come,” said Schlueter.
Even though Schlueter has retired from the New London Police Department, he is not done working. He will be starting a job as a protective service risks specialist for Cities and Villages Mutual Insurance Company (CVMIC) on March 31.
“I’ll be assisting a bunch of agencies insured by CVMIC throughout the state, working with law enforcement to help them, act as a risk manager and reduce risk for them, and kind of advise them on what they can do to make it safer for officers out there,” said Schlueter.
He said the same job was open a couple of years ago.
“It was something of interest to me at the time, but I wasn’t quite ready to leave the profession of law enforcement because I enjoy it so much,” said Schlueter. “The opportunity became available again. I put my application in to see if I had a chance at it. They ended up picking me.”
He added, “I’m at the age right now, I’ll be turning 53 in May, and I figured that if I ever was going to start another career, that I better get going before I get too old. Hopefully it will be a successful career for awhile that I can enjoy, and help other law enforcement officers throughout the state.”
The decision to retire was difficult, Schlueter said.
“The New London Police Department has been great to me,” said Schlueter. “The citizens have been great to me. The people I work with are unbelievable. And the support we have received at the New London PD has been incredible over the years. It was a very difficult decision because I enjoy my job so much. I enjoy all aspects of it. Working with people through good times and bad times, and helping them through different situations. It wasn’t taken lightly – the decision, but for my family, and having the opportunity to try something different before I’m completely retired, I just felt that at this time it would be a good opportunity for me to try something new.”
Schlueter said he is confident the police department will be able to move forward after his retirement without missing a beat.
“I believe that I’ve had the opportunity to do that, to create a great foundation for them,” said Schlueter. “I’ve had the opportunity to hire numerous officers at the police department, that I think we have some great young talent that will actually be great for the city of New London in the future, and will be able to provide all the services that they need.”
Schlueter said he also believes the New London Police and Fire Commission will pick the best available candidate to replace him.
“But I also believe that our city has numerous officers that act as leaders within the department and have specialized in numerous different things to be able to help move the department forward, to take care of our citizens, help get the problems resolved when they need to get them resolved, and to get the job done,” said Schlueter.
The everyday interaction with members of the community, city organizations, city employees, and the school district is something that Schlueter said he will miss.
“It’s really become a big part of my life, and with New London being my hometown, I take a lot of pride in it,” said Schlueter. “I’m going to miss everybody that I work with and everybody that I serve.”
He added, “This position’s just been a great honor to serve the citizens of New London, and I really appreciate it, and I’ve enjoyed it. I’m still going to be a member in the community, and I’m sure I’ll see people around all the time.”