Lincoln Police officers promoted to Chief, Assistant Chief and Sergeant

 

[January 05, 2023] 

At the Tuesday night voting session of the Lincoln City Council, three members of the Lincoln Police Department officially received promotions in rank with a oath of service ceremony before the members of the council.
 

Joseph Meister was sworn in as the new Chief of Police replacing retired chief Matt Vlahovich.

Matt Comstock was promoted to the position of Assistant Chief of Police and Officer Tim Butterfield was promoted to Sergeant.

Each of the men beginning with Meister was administered the oath of service by Lincoln City Attorney John Hoblit.

Retired Chief Vlahovich was in the gallery and at the end of the event was invited to address the council.

Before the retired chief spoke, Mayor Tracy Welch addressed Vlahovich saying that the council appreciated his time of service to the city and felt that he had been a role model for the people who served under him. Welch thanked Vlahovich for his service and wished him the best in future endeavors.

Vlahovich came to the speakers table and expressed appreciation for the council and their willingness to work with him throughout his tenure as chief. He said that he had worked with a good department and that in his mind, the measure of success inside the department did not belong to one person. He said he always believed that he was only as good as the people who served with him. That nothing the department had accomplished belonged exclusively to the chief, but rather to the entire department.
 

Vlahovich’s official last day of service was December 31, 2022. Meister rolled into that new position on January 1, 2023.

The order of command includes the city council hiring the chief of police based on recommendations from the departing chief (if applicable) and the mayor.

The chief of police selects and hires the Assistant Chief and decides on the promotions within the department to fill the gap left by the promotion of the assistant.

[Nila Smith]