Full Notification

It is both an honor and a privilege to announce the well-deserved service retirement of Lieutenant Tim Lyons after nearly 33 years of professional and compassionate service to the Petaluma community and beyond.   

Lieutenant Lyons first wore the badge (424) and began his life of service in 1985 when he joined the SRJC Campus Police Department as a student officer (radio call sign 16F24) while completing his Associates Degree in Administration of Justice.  He would serve as Student Officer, Field Training Officer, Sergeant, Lieutenant and Captain. During his career with SRJCPD he was responsible for positively influencing cadets through training, mentoring and developing their enthusiasm and excitement for a career of honor and service.   

After completing his Associates Degree, he transferred to Sacramento State University where he continued his studies in pursuit of his Bachelor’s Degree.   

Consistent with his demonstrated commitment and dedication, even while attending Sacramento State, Tim continued to commute back and forth to Santa Rosa to fulfill his responsibilities and duties to the SRJC campus until he graduated and was hired by Petaluma Police Department.   

Tim was hired by the City of Petaluma April 9, 1990 and was assigned to the 85th Basic Law Enforcement Academy at Los Guilicos Training Center in Santa Rosa.  During the academy he continued to honor the PPD reputation by excelling in all aspects of the academy training.  He was assigned PPD Badge and Call Sign “Lincoln 35.” 

After completing field training in the fall of 1990, he worked patrol and quickly developed a reputation as a tenacious crime fighter and community problem solver.   Referred to by veteran officers as the “young go-getter”, he was clearly driven to address the issues that were degrading the quality of life for community members and he relentlessly pursued narcotic offenders, auto thieves, and drunk drivers.   

He was always the first to arrive and the last to leave as he served with distinction in a variety of assignments including patrol, investigations, field training officer, bicycle patrol officer, juvenile justice enforcement, recruitment, SWAT, and the communications committee.   

Tim valued his mentors and leaders in the Administration of Justice Programs and decided after his academy graduation to stay active in the police academy as an evaluator, recruit training officer (RTO) then an instructor and eventually a adjunct faculty member.   He continues to this day to give back to the academy to help develop and mentor future law enforcement officers and leaders.  He served as a recruit training officer and now teaches academy students crimes in progress and responding to high-risk encounters. 

In his early years, Tim completely understood the importance of community policing and relationship building with the community he serves.  Tim went out of his way to meet and help anyone who even made eye contact with him.  The relationships he has built are a testament the voice, neutrality, dignity and respect, trustworthiness and goodwill he showed every community member. 

In 1998, then Officer and Detective Lyons was responsible for researching and applying for an Office of Traffic Safety Grant to restore the Traffic Motorcycle Program that had been disbanded since 1958.  Additionally, his drive to always improve the Department resulted in the research and development of the first ever Bicycle Patrol Team and later the Dual-Purpose Motorcycle Team.   He researched and applied for Juvenile Justice Grants to prevent alcohol, tobacco and other drugs from getting into the hands our youth.  He developed the first OTS grant to obtain Portable Alcohol Breath Testing devices to aid officers in DUI enforcement.  

Officer Lyons was not only a good street cop but an excellent investigator.  He was commended by the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office for the quality of his investigations, specifically many high-profile cases including murder and officer involved shooting investigations he conducted for other agencies.   

His recognition and appreciation by the community was evident in the note cards and letters from McDowell Drug Task Force, all school districts in Petaluma,  Downtown Merchants Association, Petaluma Area Chamber of Commerce , Sonoma Marin Fair, Petaluma Tourism Board, Speedway Charities, the VFW, Cruisin’ the Blvd Car Show, Special Olympics Basketball and Torch Run, Petaluma Valley Little League, Project TUFF, and every law enforcement agency in the Northbay.  Whether he was rafting with troubled youth or taking his co-workers to the top of half dome in Yosemite National Park, he understood positive influence, team   building, and the importance of spending time together to build lasting relationships.   

All of his hard work, dedication, and enthusiasm would result in his selection as Police Sergeant on November 4, 1996.   In the roll of Police Sergeant he would continue to achieve great success supervising and managing almost every assignment and major program for the department.     

Of particular note was his selection and assignment on January 15, 2002 when he was selected to become the first Police Motorcycle Sergeant in the history of the department.  He led the region in creative and proactive strategies to reduce collisions, especially alcohol related crashes.  He applied for and received millions of dollars in grant funding to aid the City in developing a robust Traffic Safety Program that exists today.  While serving in his traffic assignments he was responsible for handling every major special event in the City including the Fair Security Contract, Butter and Eggs Day Parade, Every 15 Minutes Youth Anti-DUI event, Veteran’s Day Parade, marathons and bicycle races, escorts for fallen veterans and police officers, and even escorts for the Petaluma Valley Little League World Series Champions.   

His assignment as the Traffic Supervisor was a career achievement winning the ABC Award of Excellence in 2007 for combating underage drinking and driving and the California Law Enforcement Challenge from the Office of Traffic Safety among many others.  He served for 6 years as the riding traffic sergeant until he was promoted to Lieutenant in January of 2008 (radio call sign “1 Adam 3”) 

As a Lieutenant he again commanded every division and specialized team in the department, including Field Services, Patrol Services, Special Services, SWAT, K9, Traffic, Investigations, and Community Health Outreach. He managed a very successful criminal interdiction team and was responsible for bringing a CHP officer into the Investigations Unit to cross train their officer and improve our team.  As Lieutenant he managed the transition of Animal Services from the City to a private charitable organization run by and supported by the community.   

Lieutenant Tim Lyons has received Advanced, Supervisory, and Management certificates from the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST), certification in the National and State Incident Manage Systems, and is a graduate of the 282nd Session of the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia.  He received a Distinguished Service Medal (1992) for his selection as Officer of the Year, and a Unit Citation (2006) for his efforts on the “To Catch a Predator” Operation conducted with NBC. 

The retirement of Lieutenant Tim Lyons will be a tremendous loss of institutional knowledge, experience, and community relationships but the legacy he has created through his leadership will guarantee PPD will carry on the tradition of excellence and service to this community.  

Please join us in thanking Tim for his tremendous dedication, sacrifice, and loyal service to our community and our organization and congratulating him on his well-deserved service retirement.