BARDSTOWN, Ky. (WHAS11) -- Bardstown Police Chief Rick McCubbin is counting down the days until his retirement and reflecting on his five years spent with the department.
“When I took over this department it was a great one. And I want the next chief to make it even better than I thought it could be,” McCubbin said.
He said he has considered retirement for a while but the recent reorganization of his department by the mayor, without his approval, was the moment he knew it was time to retire.
"The way it was done--well, I said it to the mayor--it was not professional and disrespectful and it just lacks leadership. It's just not how things work,” McCubbin said.
Officially his last day is this Friday, May 27. The Louisville native served eight years with LMPD and eight as a US Marshall before joining Bardstown.
McCubbin said his greatest accomplishment was lifting morale among the citizens.
“One person said Bardstown Police are nothing but ‘A bunch of Andy friends that write tickets’. And that really bothered me ‘cause I knew that was wrong. So I set my goal that I was gonna show them that no, these men and women are professionals and we have a great police department in this town. And unfortunately we are the most beautiful small town, but there is real crime here,“ McCubbin said.
The one crime that shook Bardstown and still haunts McCubbin is the unsolved shooting death of officer Jason Ellis. The three year anniversary of his death is Wednesday May 25.
“Nothing bothered and hurt me as much as that. He was a wonderful officer and young man. But it happens on your watch,” McCubbin said.
As the search for his replacement gets underway, he wishes the next chief only the best. He hopes it will be someone that takes the department to the next level.
“Under my badge it says chief but on my heart it says policeman, patrolman, officer and that will always be a part of me,” McCubbin said.
McCubbin hopes to take off a month but he said he knows that will be tough. We could soon see him again because he's up for several police jobs around the state.