Rick Skilliter always wanted to be a policeman.
A Bluffton police officer since 1989 and police chief since 2006, Skilliter announced his retirement this week. His last day on the job was Aug. 30, using vacation days until Sept. 22, when he officially retires.
A reception, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 22, in the third floor of the town hall, open to the public, is his official farewell as police chief.
Skilliter’s progress to chief started on Sept. 5, 1989, when he became a patrolman. On March 26, 1996 he was named sergeant. On March 13, 2006, he became chief.
His involvement in Bluffton’s safety services extends to EMS and fire department work. He joined both departments when he became a patrolman. In 1992 he became the EMS assistant chief and from 1997 to 2006 was EMS chief.
When Dennis Gallant became mayor Skilliter became Bluffton’s first-ever safety director. In that role he oversaw the fiscal and human resources side of police, EMS and fire departments.
In 1995 he and his wife, Meri, started in-house EMS training, which has continued until this year. He also started a CPR instruction program at Bluffton High School. He said that over 2,000 BHS students learned CPR skills under his direction.
Hours and hours of behind the scenes work fall in a police chief’s lap. Skilliter said that the 2013 flood, for example, took one and one-half months of work with federal, state and local agencies.
The university bus accident – while it didn’t happen in Bluffton – was an intense time for Bluffton police, particularly with all the outside media attention and media personalities. “Small towns aren’t accustomed to dealing with things like that,” he said.
In 1989 Bluffton’s police department had five full-time officers and three part-time.
Today’s staff includes eight full-time and 10 part-time. The current police budget is approximately $600,000.
Skilliter says. “It’s easy to be critical of a small-town police department. But what people don’t realize is that we handle cases from the very beginning to the very end. Our work touches the victims, the suspects and all the way to the prosecutors. We sometimes plead the case in court.”
Concerning drugs in a small town, Skilliter said, “We are starting to feel the devastation of heroin in Bluffton. Our officers now carry Naloxone, which can be administered to persons in advance of EMS arrival on an overdose scene.”
“Opioids is an epidemic unlike anything we’ve seen,” he said. “Court and jails can’t handle this. It affects people of all ages – teenagers on up.”
He said that families of addicts must become involved very early on. “If you see it (drugs), they (your family member) have the problem. You must get them in treatment and counseling immediately.”
A police chief is truly an administrator. Skilliter estimates that 5 to 10 percent of his time is in officer back up, 3 to 5 percent of his time is on patrol. The rest is administrative.
“If you think the role of the police chief in a small town is to go out and chase bad guys, that doesn’t happen,” he said. “The requirements and load of a police chief is so much more in depth.”
Reflecting on the human side of being a police chief, Skilliter said:
“I’m humbled that people invite us into their lives. Many times that invitation is at the worst time for them. There’s an issue of trust involved – people trust me with their life.”
Skilliter and his wife, Meri, are parents of three sons. Evan is married and works in Findlay. Their twin sons are Jordan and Braden. Jordan attends the University of Toledo, majoring in engineering. Braden is a recent police academy graduate.
Skilliter has accepted a position in the private sector and will announced that new job very soon.
Ryan Burkholder, current member of the police department, is interim chief.
