Crime & Safety

St. Charles Taps Huffman as Interim Police Chief

City Administrator Mark Koenen announces the selection of Steven Huffman as interim police chief as Chief Jim Lamkin's retirement nears.

Twenty-year St. Charles Police Department veteran Steven Huffman, the department’s deputy chief of administration, has been tapped as interim police chief with the pending retirement of Chief Jim Lamkin.


City Administrator Mark Koenen announced Huffman’s selection Wednesday afternoon, Dec. 18, 2013. The appointment is effective Dec. 27, the date of Lamkin’s retirement.


While Lamkin is retiring after a little more than 10 years as St. Charles police chief, he’s not leaving the profession. He will become police chief in Schaumburg, where he will work again with former St. Charles Administrator Brian Townsend, who left St. Charles to become Schaumburg’s village administrator.

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According to Koenen’s release, St. Charles will seek applications for police chief after Jan. 1, 2014. The city intends to fill the position in the spring.


“Steve’s appointment will provide excellent continuity during this time of transition,” Koenen said. “His experience, knowledge and commitment to the safety and security of the St. Charles community are evident in his many years here in the Police Department.”

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Huffman joined the St. Charles Police Department as a patrol officer in 1993, moving up through the ranks to detective sergeant in charge of investigations, to deputy chief of operations, and then to deputy chief of administration.


He came to the department after serving as an aviation mechanic with the U.S. Marine Corps. Huffman has a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice Administration from Columbia Southern University.


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