Avon’s top cop leaves for Loveland squad
Special to the Daily |
AVON — The Sweetheart City has earned its nickname this year.
After being courted by Loveland Fire Chief Mark Miller, Avon Police Chief Bob Ticer has decided to leave Avon to become the chief in Loveland, otherwise known as the Sweetheart City.
Of course, says Ticer, there were many other factors.
“I was drawn to the size of the department,” he said. “Also, with one son in college and the other getting ready to go into high school, we thought this would be a perfect window where we could get our family settled down for the rest of my career.”
“He was always striving to keep Avon safe, 24 hours per day, now and into the future.”Jake WolfAvon Mayor Pro Tem
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Knowing he would have a good working relationship with Loveland’s fire chief was a big contributor in Ticer’s decision to leave Avon. Miller was the fire chief in Vail before moving to Loveland in 2014.
“If you have an excellent relationship between your fire chief and your police chief, then you’re going to have a very safe community,” he said. “I knew that was already there, so I thought ‘I’m going to take a look at this.’”
It’s a dynamic he learned to appreciate while working in Avon with Eagle River Fire Protection District Chief Karl Bauer.
“Having such a good relationship with Mr. Bauer is what made me realize how important that connection is in public safety,” Ticer said. “I’m sure that’s something Avon’s next police chief will see, as well. He’s a real asset to the community.”
Bauer and Ticer worked together for more than a year helping to conceive the plans for the joint public safety facility, currently before voters in Avon and the Eagle River Fire Protection District.
Ticer always said he was pursuing a new location due to the needs of those working under him. By leaving now, after working hard on the planning and not enjoying the benefits, Ticer has proven that to be true, said Mayor Pro Tem Jake Wolf.
“He was always striving to keep Avon safe, 24 hours per day, now and into the future,” Wolf said.
‘A TRUE LOSS’
Avon Town Manager Virginia Egger said Ticer’s departure would be “a true loss for Avon.”
Before hiring Ticer, Loveland’s city manager came to Avon to conduct on-site reference checks with Egger and Avon’s staff.
“It is through Bob’s leadership,” said Egger, “that the Avon Police Department received the national Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies certification, saw the citizen academies build a strong nexus into the community, lowered crime rates and raised awareness about drinking and driving and seat belt safety and made inroads into suicide prevention.”
Egger called Ticer a remarkable person.
“He leaves the department in excellent shape, in all regards,” she said. “From the day-to-day work of his officers to planning the new police station. That is testament to his being a great police chief.”
POSITIVE IMPACT
Ticer was hired under former Avon Town Manager Larry Brooks, to whom Ticer says he will always be grateful.
“Coming from Arizona, I was just extremely thankful for the welcoming in Colorado,” he said. “That was awesome.”
In 2011, Ticer made headlines when his department used a piece of evidence left at a crime scene to put together a case against the locally notorious Bridge Street Bandit, who was a suspect in as many as 35 burglaries in Eagle County and surrounding areas.
But in his more than six years on the force, Ticer said his proudest accomplishments lie in the partnerships he helped foster.
“We built some awesome relationships in our community, especially in the Hispanic community, through our Latino academies,” he said.
In 2013, the Avon Police Department, along with the Vail Police Department, was awarded the International Association of Chiefs of Police civil rights award for its work in the Hispanic community.
“We established a law enforcement immigrant advisory committee, which I’m sure the new police chief in Avon will sit on,” Ticer said.
Wolf said Ticer’s work in youth outreach and outreach to the Hispanic community will be hard to match.
“I first met Chief Ticer before I was on council, when I was working at Avon Elementary,” Wolf said. “The positive impacts his programs had was evident.”
Ticer’s first day on the job in Loveland is May 30.
