Peru police chief Bob Pyszka to retire after 32 years

After 32 years of being constantly on call, working odd hours and dedicating his life to keeping Peru residents safe, Police Chief Bob Pyszka announced he will be retiring.

His career was described by those around him as one of service and sacrifice.

“Bob Pyszka would give you the shirt off his back,” said Deputy Chief Sarah Raymond.

The last 22 years of his career he was on-call, with his phone on and within close proximity in case of an emergency. He’s answered those calls, even on Christmas and his children’s birthdays.

Now, after 32 years of service, Pyszka will finally be turning off his phone and leaving his life as a police officer behind.

“Knowing that I’m not going to be a police officer anymore, it’s been 62% of my life,” Pyszka said. “There’s going to be a big gap, a big hole that needs to be filled.”

Pyszka has had an impressive career. When he was a detective, he and his former partner solved the two largest burglary cases in La Salle County history, each individually amounting to a quarter of a million dollars.

He also saved multiple people from a building fire, including one woman who was trapped on the roof. Pyszka found her, kept her calm and waited with her on top of the burning building until the fire department came to rescue her.

“Thirty two years pretty much sums it up, that’s an incredible career,” said Mayor Ken Kolowski. “He served and protected the city for a long time. He’s very dedicated to his craft, an excellent leader and that’s one of the reasons I appointed him chief.”

Pyszka spent his entire professional career with the Peru police department. He was an intern there before he was hired as an officer at age 21 in 1990. Pyszka began working swing shifts for the first couple years and then moved to midnight shifts for the next five years.

He was promoted to detective in 2001 and in 2007 became Peru’s first deputy chief. In 2021, Pyszka achieved his ultimate career goal when he was appointed to police chief.

“People should look at his career and see he served the city for 32 years,” Raymond said. “That’s a long time, that’s a lot of sacrifice. This job is not an easy one, so I hope people can see that and see it’s an amazing feat.”

Pyszka said his philosophy throughout his career has been to treat others the way he would want to be treated and always treat others as an equal. In his year as police chief, his goal was to instill that philosophy into the officers of the department.

“I care so much for the officers, my current officers, and I just want to make sure everything is good for them,” Pyszka said. “Leaving is allowing someone else to continue making sure they’re getting everything they need … and I just want them to be safe and continue the good morale.”

Pyszka’s last day as chief will be Saturday, Nov. 26. Raymond will be sworn in as the next police chief during the Peru City Council meeting on Monday, Nov. 21.

“I love not just being the chief of police, but a police officer for the city of Peru for the past 32 plus years,” Pyszka said. “However, there comes a time to let go and allow someone else to achieve their goals ... and allow a new officer to start their career in law enforcement.”