A 21-year Aurora Police veteran, Lt. Keefe Jackson, 49, has been recommended to fill the second-in-command position of the state’s second largest police department.

“A strong and diverse Command Staff sets the tone of a police department,” said Mayor Tom Weisner. “After consulting with Chief (Kristen) Ziman and reviewing the short-term and long-term goals of the APD, I am proud to recommend Keefe Jackson as the new deputy chief. His decades of experience and leadership in law enforcement and in the military will continue to be invaluable to the second largest police department in the state.”

Weisner was joined by Aurora Police Chief Ziman to announce his recommendations during an appearance last week.

Jackson, who began his career with the Aurora Police in April, 1995, has worked in patrol, Special Operations (Gangs and Vice) and Field Training and is a former member of the Special Response (SWAT) Team.

He was also an investigator with the Illinois State Police North Central Narcotics Task Force, served on the Aurora Police Honor Guard, and coordinated the police department’s Crisis Intervention Team, that addresses calls for service involving people with psychological challenges. He currently oversees the Office of Professional Standards, which investigates internal and external complaints involving Aurora Police employees.

Jackson was promoted to sergeant in 2004 and lieutenant in 2010. He would become the first African-American deputy police chief in Aurora and the first since 2008 when Greg Thomas held the position.

Jackson is a retired captain with the United States Army National Guard having served as a commissioned officer for 23 years including deployment in Iraq where he was awarded the Bronze Star. He is a 1984 graduate of Lindblom Technical High School in Chicago and a 1990 graduate of Northern Illinois University where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Economics.

Jackson also graduated from the Harvard Kennedy School’s Senior Executives in State in Local Government program; the Police Executive Research Forum’s Senior Management Institute for Police; and the School of Police and Staff and Command at Northwestern University.

“I was faced with the daunting but exciting task to promote a Deputy Chief and two Commanders,” said Ziman. “I say daunting because the skill-set and heart-set of the applicants made it ridiculously difficult. But that also made it impossible to make a bad decision.”

Ziman also selected Lt. Michael Doerzaph, 47, and Lt. Keith Cross, 46, for promotions to Commanders.

A special promotion ceremony will be held for the Commanders in February.

— Aurora police announce more appointments  —