Chief Gary Rudick (ret.) is a 35-year veteran of law enforcement in Oklahoma, serving the citizens of the state as a patrol officer, supervisor, and chief of police. He has a master’s in criminal justice and is a graduate of the FBI National Academy, Session 242. He led one police agency to receive the 2006 International Association of Chiefs of Police Civil Rights Award, and the same agency was recognized for achieving state accreditation.
In 2008, Chief Rudick was tasked with creating the largest public school policing agency in Oklahoma. During his tenure, the Tulsa Public School Campus Police served more than 40,000 students and 6,000 employees. Rudick’s approach and organizational structure for a public school policing entity has been emulated by other school districts across the nation. When he led this agency to accreditation, Rudick became the only law enforcement executive in Oklahoma to lead two agencies to accreditation.
In 2013, Chief Rudick served on the Oklahoma lieutenant governor’s Oklahoma Commission on School Security, which developed key legislation to increase safety and security at schools following the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. He has served as board president for the Oklahoma Association of Chiefs of Police (OACP) and on the board of directors for OACP from 2005 until he retired from law enforcement in 2014.
Recognized as a leader in school safety and security, Chief Rudick is a certified instructor for the State of Oklahoma Council for Law Enforcement Education and Training and is a published author for school policing in the FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin.
Gary Rudick served as a field representative for the State of Oklahoma Office of Homeland Security to improve the safety of the learning environment for all students, faculty, and staff, as well as instructing law enforcement in areas of education policing until 2019. He remains active in advocating for innovative safety measures within the education environment and championing improved policing approaches based on Tactical Communication recommendations.