Ken Clary was sworn-in as the Police Chief in Bellevue, Nebraska, (the third largest city in the State) on September 1^st, 2020. As Chief, he oversees a department of approximately 100 sworn and 20 civilian personnel. Prior to this appointment, Ken worked for the Iowa State Patrol from 1994 – 2020. Throughout his career with the State Patrol, he has served in a variety of roles including District Commander, Statewide Tactical Commander, Assistant Operations Commander, Professional Standards Bureau, and CALEA Accreditation Coordinator.

Ken received his Master in Public Administration degree from Upper Iowa University, and he is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Nebraska Omaha.  He was selected by the National Institute of Justice as a Law Enforcement Advancing Data and Science (LEADS) Scholar and served in this capacity from 2016-2019. He also graduated the FBI National Academy (Session 269), completed the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) – Leadership in Police Organizations, and Northwestern University’s School of Police Staff and Command.

Ken has played key roles in developing national programs and initiatives; including working with IADLEST and NHTSA on updating Data Driven Approaches to Crime and Traffic Safety (DDACTS), working with the National Policing Institute to help create the National Law Enforcement Roadway Safety Program (NLERSP), and working with the Policing Project on the 30×30 Initiative. He currently serves as an Executive Fellow for the National Policing Institute, was inducted into the Center for Evidence-Based Policing Hall of Fame in 2019, and received the IACP J. Stannard Baker Lifetime Achievement Award for Highway Safety.

Ken has also served his community as a Special Olympics Torch Run Volunteer for several years. He currently serves as the Board Chair for the Food Bank of Iowa. Ken has been awarded the Iowa Governor’s Volunteer Award on two occasions for his philanthropic efforts (2014 and 2016).