While Chuck Cychosz said he believes there is never a great time to retire, he also believes there is an excitement about exploring the next stage of life.

After 13 years of service, Cychosz’s last day as chief of police for the Ames Police Department will be Monday.

In a job as turbulent as chief of police, Cychosz reflected on the fact there’s no such thing as a typical “day in the life” for him. Cychosz said Ames Police Department defines their mission as “relationship building and problem-solving,” and this mission captures the essence of his job in as few words as possible.

“I have a lot of contact with the community, with other agencies with other departments and try to maintain those connections around services and issues in the community,” Cychosz said. 

After working for Iowa State University in Student Affairs for 19 years, Cychosz eventually made the switch to law enforcement in 2002, becoming chief in 2007.

Ames Police Department Cmdr. Geoff Huff said if Cychosz leaves any sort of legacy with his retirement, it will definitely be his attention to detail and dedication to ensuring the department is listening to the public and building partnerships with the community.

“Chuck is probably one of the smartest people I’ve ever met,” Huff said with a laugh. “When you sit down and talk to him, you just know that he thinks very deeply about things and especially before making decisions — trying to figure out all the advantages and disadvantages to every decision.”

On top of his perfectionistic passion for community outreach, Cychosz will also be remembered for his collaborative skills between Ames Police Department and Iowa State University Police Department.

Michael Newton, associate vice president and chief of police for Iowa State University Department of Public Safety, said he and Cychosz built a strong partnership while working together to serve the Ames community, and Cychosz’s university background ensured productive collaboration between the two police departments.

“We continuously have conversations on a very frequent basis about making sure, one, that we’re on the same page, and two, we’re doing what’s right for the community,” Newton said. “Anytime there’s an event that happens, like some of these protests that have happened here, we need to have a coordinated response because they go in between jurisdictions.”

With the death of George Floyd sparking the recent resurgence in Black Lives Matter protests and an overall distrust in police, Cychosz said he wondered how something such as Floyd’s death could happen in this day and age. He said the Black Lives Matter movement reinforced his belief in communicative, collaborative outreach.

“[The Black Lives Matter movement] caused our community to ask questions about the way we operate and what we do,” Cychosz said. “To some extent that’s been healthy, because there are a lot of people who didn’t know that we’ve been doing training for years on diversity, implicit bias and immigration culture.

“‘[Protesters] said ‘You should do these things,’ and we were able to say we have been, and so I think it reignited that important discussion we have to have about ‘what does the community want from its police department?’ and ‘what is the police department doing to respond to those expectations?’”

Despite the difficulty and stress that comes along with running a police department, recruiting new officers through a rigorous screening process, performing administrative work, ensuring public safety and the countless other duties that attach to the role of chief, Cychosz said his favorite memories from his long run will be the people he worked with and the citizens he served.

“I’ve been here because of what this community believes in, because of the vibrancy of Iowa State University and the students,” Cychosz said. “It’s really been a privilege to be here and be a part of what’s happening in this town, so I hope I help people embrace and support the next police chief and help them have the good experiences I’ve had here.”