Lawrence Police Department Chief Curtis Bigsbee has been reaffirmed as police chief by new Lawrence Mayor Deb. Whitfield, who administered the oath of office to Bigsbee during a Jan. 4 ceremony at the mayor’s office at Government Center.
Bigsbee was appointed chief in May 2023 by then-Mayor Steve Collier, who did not seek reelection and completed his second term in December. Bigsbee replaced former LPD Chief Gary Woodruff, who stepped down to serve as deputy chief and help with the department’s leadership transition before his planned retirement. Woodruff retired effective Jan. 1.
According to a City of Lawrence announcement, Bigsbee is a veteran of the Indiana Army National Guard, serving from 1997 to 2005, including deploying overseas on a NATO peacekeeping mission in Kosovo.
After joining LPD in 2005, Bigsbee served as a patrol officer in operations, as a detective in investigations, as deputy chief and as operations and administrative division commander.
Bigsbee is a 2016 graduate of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department’s Leadership Academy. He has served on various boards and committees and is appointed to the Marion County Emergency Services Agency board.
He has a bachelor’s degree in business administration, finance, management and human resources from Marian University.
