A long-time officer and police chief in Milford will retire after starting with the force in 1983.
Forrest Siebken, Milford police chief, was hired on as an officer on June 1, 1983, and became chief in 2000.
After 40 years with the department, Siebken said it was time to retire.
“I’m 66 years old. I just felt like it was time for me to explore other things,” he said. “Law enforcement has been my life and I thoroughly enjoyed my career for the 47 years I’ve been involved with law enforcement and security.”
It wasn’t easy for Siebken since he still enjoys the job, but he said it felt like the right decision.
“I just felt that it was time for me to step down and let somebody else take over and go enjoy life,” he said.
Looking towards retirement, one of the things Siebken is looking forward to is fishing.
“Everybody knows that I love to fish,” he said. “My wife and I have a trip planned. We’re going to be getting away for a bit and do some fishing.”
Siebken said he hasn’t been able to do things like fishing and projects around the house because of how busy he’s been and being understaffed at the department.
“My focus has been on the department and trying to make sure that we’re providing a level of law enforcement that I feel the city of Milford deserves,” he said.
Overall, Siebken said his experience with the Milford department has been great. He said he’s always had support from multiple people.
“From an officer all the way up to the police chief, I’ve had support from the department,” he said.
With Siebken retiring, Darrin Kremer will be taking over as police chief of Milford. Siebken said Kremer was an officer for Milford and an investigator with the Nebraska Racing and Casino Commission.
Siebken said Kremer has been training with him.
“I’ve been showing him basically everything that goes on here as far as bills and other things that have to be taken care of and how to do that,” he said.
Although it will be tough for Siebken to leave the position, he feels Kremer is going to be an excellent asset to the community and the department.
“I fully support what he will try to accomplish with the department,” he said. “I look forward to him stepping into that role, and I plan to be available to him if he has any questions or needs any help.”
After his time in Milford, Siebken said he couldn’t think of a better place to serve and gives credit to God for him being in Milford.
“I used to think, ‘Who would ever want to work in Milford, Nebraska?’ Well, God said ‘you’re going to work in Milford,’” he said. “It was really a good thing that I ended up coming here. Milford has been a great place for me and my family.”
Siebken said he has developed many friendships throughout the years and has appreciated the working relationships he’s had with the community.
“I couldn’t think of a better place to raise my family and any better place to have served,” he said. “It’s truly been a blessing.”
