New police chief takes reins today

Clinton’s new police chief is a veteran of more than 30 years in law enforcement, virtually all of it in the Tulsa area.
The new chief, Paul Rinkel, was scheduled to take over as chief here this morning (Tuesday). He was last employed as support division commander with the Jenks Police Department, retiring from that position after 12 years.
Rinkel, 57, said Friday this will be his first job in western Oklahoma but one he’s anticipating very much.
“The people I’ve met in Clinton are absolutely awesome,” he said. “I’ve been amazed at how accommodating and nice everyone has been. The city manager made me feel right at home.”
Jenks of course is a fast-growing Tulsa suburb. Rinkel’s resume said it has 22,000 residents and a 27-man police force.
He was a major when he retired as commander of the Support Division. In that position his resume said he led a team of dispatchers and support personnel while holding concurrent responsibilities for the Jenks P.D.’s 911 center, jail, and support operations, including the investigation of crimes. It said he also managed multi-million-dollar budgets.
Asked for comments about the new chief, City Manager Mark Skiles sent the following email Monday:
“Paul’s resume speaks for itself. He is a very accomplished, experienced and dedicated individual. He obviously enjoys law enforcement.
“It would appear to me that one of Paul’s personal goals is to help his staff become the best they can be and therefore serve the community of Clinton to the best of their ability.
“Paul’s wife Melodee and their two children are equally impressive. I believe that the Clinton Police Department is going to enjoy working with Paul, and the people in the Clinton community are going to enjoy knowing Paul.”
Rinkel began his career as an 18-year-old dispatcher and jailer in another Tulsa suburb, Bixby. He’s also been a detective with the Owasso P.D., a supervisor with the Okmulgee P.D., and a police officer on the satellite campus of Oklahoma State University in downtown Tulsa.
Memberships have included the International and Oklahoma Chiefs of Police, the North East Oklahoma Chiefs Group, the Regional 911 Board, and the Jenks Public School Community Education Committee.
Rinkel is an advanced police instructor with CLEET, the Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training whose program every Oklahoma police officer must complete before being fully certified. The organization also conducts continuing education courses that are required of more veteran officers.
Besides CLEET, in which he holds the highest of three levels of instruction, he’s also an advanced Oklahoma homeland instructor for the National Incident Management System.
The new Clinton chief holds an associate’s degree in criminal justice from Tulsa Community College and is a graduate of the Law Enforcement Executive Program at the University of Central Oklahoma, as well as the Leadership and Police Organizations Program of the International Chiefs of Police.
Active in community affairs, he graduated from Leadership Jenks sponsored by the Jenks Chamber of Commerce.
Rinkel told the Clinton Daily News last week that he has a son who’s a member of the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division stationed at Fort Campbell, Ky. He said he and his wife have two other children still at home, an 8-year-old and an 11-year-old.
Reminded that the Clinton Police Department lost three senior officers in November with a combined 76 years of experience, Rinkel stated: “It will be a huge challenge for me to replace that loss. It would be a huge loss for any department this size. But we’ll concentrate on training and do what we need to do to get back on par. Losing that experience is a loss, but it’s doable.
“I am excited for the challenge, and grateful to the people here for being so hospitable and so very personal.”