Lima Police Chief Angel Cortes will retire on July 26th. He took the oath of office in June of 2022.
LIMA, OH (WLIO) - It's official, the City of Lima will have a new police chief at the end of the month.
Major Jim Baker will take the oath of office becoming the next police chief on Wednesday, July 17th.
In a press release from the city, Lima Police Chief Angel Cortes will retire on July 26th. He took the oath of office in June of 2022. He is the first Hispanic police chief in the city's history and has given 33 years of service to the city starting as a patrolman in 1991. Major Jim Baker will take the oath of office becoming the next police chief on Wednesday, July 17th. His duties as chief will begin on July 27th.
You can read the official press release from the Lima Police Department below.
July 8, 2024, Press Release from the Lima Police Department: On July 26, 2024, Lima Police Chief Angel Cortes will retire after 33 years of service to the Lima community. Chief Cortes was the first Hispanic police officer employed by the police department and subsequently the first Hispanic Police Chief in the history of the Lima Police Department. He started his career as a patrolman in 1991 and rose through the ranks being promoted to Chief on June 3, 2022.
During his 33-year career with the Lima Police Department, Chief Cortes had many assignments. Some of those assignments include being a Field Training Officer (FTO); member and commander of the Hostage Negotiation Team (HNT); member, instructor and commander of the Bike Team; Sergeant of Precinct Two Community-Oriented Policing (COP); commander of Pro-Active Crime Enforcement Unit (PACE); and third shift commander. He was promoted to Major in 2012 and assigned to Administrative Services and then to the Detective Bureau before being promoted to Chief of Police.
As a result of Chief Cortes’ retirement, and after a competitive testing process to find a successor, Major Jim Baker will be ceremoniously sworn in as Lima’s next Police Chief, on July 17, 2024 at 1030 hours in Council Chambers. He will officially take over the duties of Police Chief on July 27, 2024. He will be sworn in by the Honorable Mayor Sharetta Smith.
Also promoted as a result of Chief Cortes’ retirement will be Lieutenant Curt Hile to the position of Major, Sergeant Shane Huber to the position of Lieutenant, and a patrol officer to the position of Sergeant once that testing process is completed.
