WILMINGTON — Following a unanimous vote by the Wilmington City Council on Tuesday, August 19, Chief Ryan Zuidema has been named the city’s next chief of police, concluding a nationwide search.
Zuidema comes to Wilmington from Lynchburg, Virginia, here he has served for 29 years and became chief in 2018. He will officially begin his role with the Wilmington Police Department on September 22, 2025.
“I don’t lead by just running one department, as I told all of you, it takes all of us working together as city leaders and different departments to make the city successful,” Zuidema said at council’s meeting Tuesday night.
Zuidema said he has already had productive conversations with the city manager, Becky Hawke, who began her role on June 30; he also said he had a few minutes to talk with interim chief, Ralph Evangelous, before Tuesday’s meeting.
“I’m going to spend a lot of time with him until he gets sick of me talking to him probably,” Zuidema said.
During his Lynchburg tenure, Zuidema oversaw the development and implementation of the department’s body-worn camera program, expanded officer mental wellness protocols, and, most recently, opened a new headquarters for the Lynchburg Police Department.
Zuidema has experience addressing youth violence, a concern of the WPD and city leaders for several years now as the police department has seen an increase in minors possessing guns.
In May 2023, Zuidema’s department arrested seven gang members in connection to a break-in and identified 17 criminal street gangs in Lynchburg. and told the public LPD would focus its resources and efforts on trying to weed bad actors in the community committing a disproportionate amount of crimes.
Lynchburg City Council followed up with a youth curfew. Zuidema described it as a tool in the LPD’s toolbox for getting bad actors off the street. After a few months of the curfew, Zidema reported there was a “correlation” between the curfew and less youth involvement in crime, plus decreases in auto thefts, burglaries, and violent crime. Council has since extended the curfew’s termination date several times, most recently through March 2026.
City council member Luke Waddell proposed a youth curfew this year for Wilmington after a July 4th weekend began with juveniles setting of fireworks in the streets and ended in a fatal shooting downtown, though not involving a minor. It was not approved by council.
In 2020, Zuidema was selected as a fellow in the inaugural class of the Civil Society Fellowship with The Aspen Institute, a nonprofit organization that serves as a forum for ideas on economic policy, education, finance, public health, environmental sustainability and more.
That same year, amid national calls for police reform, Zuidema held listening sessions with community members and officers of color, ultimately forming an internal diversity committee. It focused on race, gender, and sexual orientation, aiming to make the Lynchburg Police Department more reflective of the city’s demographics (the department was around 85% white at the time).
Zuidema also issued a policy banning neck restraints after the death of Goerge Floyd after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck. The policy also requires officers to report colleagues using excessive force.
Zuidema holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from SUNY Brockport and a master’s degree in business administration from Averett University. He currently serves as an adjunct professor at Liberty University’s Helms School of Government and has served as a board member of the Jubilee Family Development Center, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Virginia, CASA of Central Virginia, the Bedford County Public Schools Safety Advisory Team, and the Exchange Club of Lynchburg. He also served on the leadership council of the Lynchburg Regional Business Alliance.
“Chief Zuidema has demonstrated the highest standards of leadership, accountability, and service throughout his nearly three decades in law enforcement,” Mayor Bill Saffo said in a statement. “His proven ability to connect with the community, support his officers, and implement innovative strategies will serve Wilmington well. We are confident he will build on the Wilmington Police Department’s strong foundation, fostering trust, enhancing public safety, and serving our residents with unwavering dedication.”
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