Hail to the Chief

Moorcroft Police Chief Doug “Red” Lundborg turned in his badge for the last time Monday evening as he and several comrades-in-arms as well as other staff and friends met for cake and punch to say fare well to the retiring chief.

“I’m ready,” Red said when asked how he felt about retirement. “Law enforcement has been very good to me and I’ve worked hard at it. I think I’ve accomplished quite a few good things and have seen the world.”

Red’s career started 38 years ago in this same department. In 1982, he began as a part time officer, working into full time within the year and becoming chief in 1988.

Leaving Moorcroft for more than a decade, Red wore a uniform and worked for Uncle Sam overseas for eight years before returning home to work with the state park and the Crook County Sheriff’s Department until 2015.

“Then, many of the town’s people came to me, saying, ‘We want you back’. I at first said no, but more and more people came so I wrote a short list of what I thought I should have and [the Moorcroft Council] agreed to it, so I put in my two week notice at the sheriff’s office and on April 20, 2015, I came back to work here,” he says.

Red is happy with the things he has accomplished, saying, “I’ve gotten equipment, grant money and over time for the guys, I went to the four day week for them…I’ve done everything I can do for the troops.”

Red speaks from experience, crediting his officers for the quality of the department: “I didn’t make the police department, the guys did. I’ve had some excellent officers, both male and female; the statistics speak for themselves. I believe we accomplished more in the five years of my last tenure here than in the previous 15. That’s no fault of the leadership or anything, it’s just how things work out and the type of personalities that you have. I’ve had good personnel who are willing to go out there.”

He commended both former Mayor Steve Sproul and current Mayor Dick Claar for their cooperation, saying, “They stood behind the police department and supported me and I can’t say enough thanks for that. They have to back us in here for this job to be successful.”

Red admits that he will miss the camaraderie that comes with this work, but he is happy with his career: “I’m pleased with how it turned out. It’s been great.”

He espouses Sergeant Bill Bryant as his successor, saying, “I wish Bill Bryant the best. Hopefully, he can build upon what we have here.”

Red and wife Ruth plan to travel during the cold months in the coming years and, with all of Red’s hobbies including shooting, golf and fishing right here at home, he doesn’t anticipate getting bored.

He offers a bit of advice to those who follow: “Moorcroft has always been the kind of town that if you look for bad guys, you will find them, always. It was that way when I left in 1995 and it hasn’t changed. We need to be out there, we need to be observant, we need to be watching and we need to be seen.”