After 25 years of service to the City of Springfield, three commanders from the Springfield Police Department will retire today. Major Jim McCulloch, Captain Shawn Williams and Lieutenant Scott Umbarger graduated together from SPD’s 36th Police Academy in April 1992 and worked in a variety of positions throughout their careers.
After spending the first two years of his law enforcement career with the Wichita Police Department in Kansas, Major Jim McCulloch joined the SPD where he served in areas including patrol, narcotics and criminal investigations. He also was assigned to several task forces including COMET (Combined Ozarks Multi-jurisdictional Enforcement Team). McCulloch was nominated twice for Rotary Club Officer of the Year in 1998 and 2002, winning the award in 1998. In 2003, he received the Meritorious Achievement Award from the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF). McCulloch served on numerous community boards in the Springfield area including the U.S. Attorney’s Office Law Enforcement Coordinating Committee, the Salvation Army Advisory Board and the Salvation Army’s Red Kettle Committee. McCulloch is a graduate of Leadership Springfield Class 29, the 251st Session of the FBI’s National Academy and Police Executive Research Forum’s Senior Management Institute for Police.
During his SPD career, McCulloch held the ranks of officer, corporal, sergeant, lieutenant, captain and is retiring as the Major overseeing the Department’s Investigations and Support Services Bureau.
Captain Shawn Williams began his law enforcement career at the SPD in 1992. He served in patrol, on the Special Response Team, in the Criminal Investigations Section, Special Investigations Section and in Support Services. Williams also attended the Greater Ozarks Leadership Development Program in 2012. In his time with the SPD, he has held ranks of officer, corporal, sergeant, lieutenant and is retiring as the Captain in the Support Services Division of the Investigation and Support Services Bureau.
During Lieutenant Scott Umbarger’s 25-year career with the SPD, he has served in several units including patrol, the Special Response Team, Community Services Section, Criminal Investigations Section and Training Section. He is retiring as the Lieutenant overseeing the Training Unit of the Investigations and Support Services Bureau. Umbarger attended the Greater Ozarks Leadership Development Program in 2014-2015, and he received two Command Commendations from the SPD in 1997 for his role in the capturing of several violent suspects and for his actions when a fellow officer was shot in the line of duty that year.
“These three men have done incredible police work over the course of their careers with this department,” said Springfield Police Chief Paul Williams. “They have worked long hours, made many sacrifices and often put themselves in danger to protect the community. It’s difficult to lose a combined 75 years of knowledge and experience, but I am confident that each of them helped mentor many fellow officers throughout the department over the years, leaving us well positioned for the future.”
McCulloch, Williams and Umbarger will be honored for their service with a ceremony at 2 p.m. today at the Springfield Regional Police and Fire Training Center, 2620 W. Battlefield, and the public is welcome to attend.
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