Former Mayor Beutler responds to Chief Bliemeister stepping down
The former City of Lincoln Mayor Chris Beutler, who appointed Bliemeister in 2016, tells Channel 8 News he was shocked to learn the news.

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – Chris Beutler, the former mayor who served the City of Lincoln for 12 years, tells Channel 8 News he was shocked to hear the news of Lincoln Police Chief Jeff Bliemeister stepping down to accept a job in the private sector.
Beutler, who appointed Bliemeister in 2016, says he believes the Chief has worked hard to serve the residents of Lincoln for the last four years.
“My initial reaction, as I told the chief this morning, that this was the worst news I’ve received about city government since I left city government,” Beutler says.
“Jeff is a great young police chief, very sensitive to all elements of the community, very sensitive to community policing and generally, you really couldn’t hope for more from a police chief, he did a great job for us.”
Bliemeister, who previously worked for the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office for 20 years, was chosen to run the Lincoln Police Department out of a pool of six candidates.
“He understood that his police officers needed to relate to the communities they policed, and he helped them do that,” Beutler says about Bliemeister.