Oklahoma City Manager Craig Freeman announced the selection of Ron C. Bacy as Oklahoma City’s 51st police chief, effective immediately.
Bacy has been an Oklahoma City police officer for 32 years and served as one of the Police Department’s five Deputy Chiefs. He succeeds former Police Chief Wade Gourley, who retired after 35 years with OKCPD, five years as chief.
“Chief Bacy is a strategic planner, collaborative problem solver and proven leader,” City Manager Craig Freeman said. “He cares deeply about our community and is committed to implementing the recommendations of the Public Safety Partnership by continuing to modernize the Police Department in areas like de-escalation, use of force and crisis intervention. He is passionate about serving all residents.”
Bacy will oversee 1,235 uniformed officer positions and 558 other professional staff member positions, as well as the Police Department’s $286 million budget.
“Oklahoma City has some of the best police officers in the nation,” Chief Bacy said. “I’m humbled to serve as chief, and I look forward to building relationships in our community and finding innovative ways to address areas of mutual concern. I’m dedicated to continuing Chief Gourley’s work to expand resources for residents experiencing a mental health crisis, to leverage technology to enhance police services and continue to foster wellness initiatives for employees.”
Chief Bacy will report to Jason Ferbrache, one of Oklahoma City’s four assistant city managers. They report to the City Manager, who is the chief administrative officer of the City’s Council-Manager form of government.
About Chief Bacy
Bacy, 54, graduated from Del City High School. He received his bachelor’s degree in law enforcement management and administration from the University of Oklahoma and a master’s degree in criminal justice administration from the University of Central Oklahoma.
Bacy began his career in 1992 as a patrol officer in the Springlake Division. He was promoted to lieutenant in 2002 and served in the Santa Fe and Springlake patrol divisions, where he was also a field training officer supervisor, Emergency Response Team supervisor and on-call public information officer.
He later served in the Training and Special Investigations Divisions. He was promoted to captain in 2010 and held assignments in the Operations Bureau, the Investigations Bureau and the Office of Professional Standards.
In 2019, Bacy was promoted to major and assigned to the Southwest Division. He was promoted to deputy chief in 2021 and assigned to the Operations Bureau. He now oversees Investigations. Bacy also served as a member of the Oklahoma City Law Enforcement Policy Task Force and the Oklahoma City Community Policing Working Group.
Over the years, Bacy has served as a board member or volunteer for several organizations, including the Academy of Law & Public Safety at Douglass High School, the OSU-OKC Police Science Advisory Board, Oklahoma CASA and Stop the Violence OKC.
He graduated from the FBI National Academy Session 265, the Police Executive Research Forum’s Senior Management Institute for Policing and the Major City Chiefs Association’s Police Executive Leadership Institute.
Selection Process
OKC’s hiring consultant, Public Sector Search & Consulting, received 23 applications for the Chief position representing applicants from California, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas and Ontario, Canada.
Community representatives met with the City’s hiring consultant to get community feedback on what makes the ideal police chief. Their feedback was used in the recruitment brochure, helped build the interview questions and was used to screen candidates. The information will also be used to onboard Chief Bacy as he starts his new role.
Other information
In the City’s annual resident survey, the Police Department and other public safety services are routinely among the highest-rated City services. Responses from the 2023 survey show 69% of residents are satisfied with the quality of police service, which is 14% above the national average.
