Police chief to retire after nearly 30 years service
By Jeff Gallatin
North Olmsted
Published July 5, 2006

After nearly 30 years, North Olmsted Police Chief George Ruple is ready to fly into the next part of his life.

Ruple said last week he will be retiring Sept. 1 after eight years as police chief and 29½ years as a police officer in North Olmsted. He said it’s a good time for him to retire.

“When you meet all the goals you have set for yourself and for the department you serve, then it’s a good time to go,” Ruple said. “We have a fine department in North Olmsted with good police officers. There are two fine candidates to replace me, and either one of them will do a good job and serve the public well.”

Both department captains, Kevin Whelan and Wayne Wozniak, said they will take the civil service test to replace Ruple.

Ruple, a former school teacher and flight instructor, said he hasn’t made any specific retirement plans.

“I don’t have any immediate plans to pick up teaching again,” he said. “I might do some flight instruction work, but right now I’m just planning on doing some fishing, enjoying my family and doing other things.”

Both captains said Ruple would be missed.

“He’s been good for the department,” Whelan said. “He has always kept the department out front in terms of having modern police equipment, current investigative techniques and top personnel. He’s been good to work with.”

Wozniak seconded Whelan’s sentiments while recalling an incident earlier in his and Ruple’s careers.

“He’ll be missed,” Wozniak said. “He has made sure the department is always well prepared and ready to do its job. I’ll always remember he was the officer I was with on my first felony arrest.

“We were on patrol in a squad car, and when we went behind a beverage store there was a guy who appeared to be breaking into it, so George got out and chased him around the building before we got him arrested,” Wozniak said. “He’s a fine officer and has been a good chief.”

Ruple said, like many police officers when they retire, he’ll miss his comrades the most.

“We have a great department with fine men and women working in it,” he said. “I’ve always enjoyed working with people who wanted to be police officers because it’s a special job.”

Ruple noted that his grandfather, George Ruple, was a patrolman in North Olmsted, and that his own son George is a patrolman in Avon.

“It runs in the family,” he said. “I’m proud that my son is carrying the tradition on as well and is enjoying it.”

Ruple said he’s also proud of the department he’s leaving in two months.

“That’s one of the reasons I’m comfortable being able to leave it right now,” Ruple said. “We have one of the most talented and diverse departments in the Northern Ohio area. We have strong patrol and detective divisions. Our evidence and crime scene people and capabilities are very strong, as well as our dispatch and support staff in the department. And we have a very strong relationship in several programs with our city schools and we have a great community policing program. I don’t know of another department with such strong community programs.”

Ruple said one part of police work he enjoyed a great deal was the opportunity to help people in different ways, be it assisting a person in need or making an arrest which stops a criminal.  Conversely, he said the bad part could be some of the terrible incidents officers see.

“It’s tough, for example, to see a baby that’s been stabbed by its mother,” Ruple said. “That’s something no one wants to see or deal with.”

Ruple said he respects the government officials he’s worked with as a police captain and chief.

“We have had fine city councils; the city is fortunate to have people like them working as hard as they do and I’ve enjoyed working with them a great deal,” Ruple said. “I’ve worked with one administration as a captain and two as a chief, and they had different goals and objectives but they were always working to better the city, which I appreciate.”

Ruple’s ability to deal with a variety of different situations was one of his strengths, said Paul Miller, the senior member of City Council and longtime chairman or member of its Safety Committee.

“He’s been a good chief who’s brought a lot of good to his city and his department,” Miller said. “He’s leaving it in good shape with good people.”

Mayor Thomas O’Grady said Ruple will be leaving with the chief executive’s respect and admiration.

“He has served his city and community honorably, and we thank him for that and all that he’s accomplished during his long and distinguished service,” O’Grady said.

Ruple said he hopes the department remains strong.

“I would wish that it always remains in the front of departments in police work and serving the city in a top capacity,” Ruple said.