Rifle City Council Confirms Thomas Klein as Next Police Chief

Thomas Klein knows exactly how the gears turn in Rifle’s city hall. He spent four years as city manager, stepping out of his comfort zone as a cop to oversee everything from wastewater to the senior center. Now, he’s going back to the badge.

The Rifle City Council confirmed Klein as the next chief of police on Wednesday evening. He returns to the role he previously held from 2017 to 2021. This isn’t a fresh face learning the ropes. Klein brings more than 30 years of law enforcement experience back to the valley. He spent 24 years with the Raleigh Police Department before moving here. He left for Florida in 2024, taking a job with the Orlando Police Department’s Airport Division.

The city needed a new chief after Debra Funston retired in April. The search narrowed down to two finalists: Cory Huff and Klein. They picked the man who already knew the job.

Klein, a Raleigh native, says he’s ready to get back to doing something he loves. His wife, Kimberly, loves Rifle too. They always wanted to come back.

“I’m ready to get back to doing something I love,” Klein said. “We always wanted to come back.”

He’s not hiding the fact that he drifted from uniform to administration. When he left the police chief job, he took the city manager role. Some locals were skeptical about hiring an outsider for that position. A few people asked him to do it. He decided to try it.

“I told them I wasn’t a city manager, I’m a cop, and I would prefer to be a police chief over anything,” Klein said. “but I did enjoy my time as city manager.”

That detour gave him a broader view of municipal operations. As a department head, he understood the police side. In that administrative seat, he saw the rest. He learned how different divisions work. He saw the inner workings of Parks and Recreation, wastewater, and the senior center. It was complicated. It was interesting.

“I never would’ve learned about those things before,” Klein said. “I understood so many more details about what every department is dealing with.”

He says the experience gave him a real appreciation for the work that goes into operating a municipality correctly. He’s excited to bring that perspective back to the police department.

Klein will likely be sworn in sometime in July at one of the city council meetings. Until then, the department waits for its former leader to return from Florida.

Rifle isn’t getting a stranger. It’s getting a veteran who has already proven he can handle the chief’s chair and the city’s broader administrative needs. For the folks who lived through his first stint as chief, this is a return to familiar leadership. For those who only knew him as city manager, it’s a shift back to law enforcement focus.

The cost? The city didn’t list a new salary figure in the confirmation report, but Klein’s previous tenure suggests a significant investment in a single individual who commands respect across multiple city departments. It’s a bet on experience over fresh blood. Klein says Rifle is a special place. He says it’s got great people.

He’s going to prove it by running the department.