Police Commission Selects Retired Vegas Captain as New KPD Chief 

KPD Chief Todd Raybuck

The County of Kaua‘i Police Commission has selected former Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Captain Todd Raybuck as new the new Chief of Police for the Kaua‘i Police Department, according to a county news release this week.

“Eight months ago, the Kaua‘i Police Commission started the rigorous process of hiring a new Chief of Police. Of the 130 applicants vetted by the Commission, one truly stood out — Todd Raybuck,” said Mary Kay Hertog, Police Commission Chair and a member of the selection committee. “Not only was Todd the best qualified candidate, he was also the best fit for our Kaua‘i community. He has more than three decades of law enforcement experience, and we are confident he will take KPD to the next level of excellence.”

A change of command ceremony will be held April 22.

“The County of Kaua‘i and the men and women of the Kaua‘i Police Department look forward to welcoming Chief Raybuck to the KPD ‘ohana and to his leadership of the department,” Acting Chief of Police Michael Contrades said. “Our team will work actively and diligently with Chief Raybuck to ensure a smooth transition of leadership. We would like to thank the Police Commission for their hard and diligent work finding a new Chief. The Commissioners and staff spent countless hours ensuring that the right person was selected.”

Mayor Derek Kawakami echoed Acting Chief Contrades’s sentiments to the Police Commission.

“I commend the Police Commission for its thorough selection process for the new Chief of Police of Kaua‘i,” Kawakami said. “We welcome Chief Raybuck and his family to our island, and I am confident he will do an outstanding job leading the Kaua‘i Police Department to continue to serve and protect the people of our island.”

Chief Raybuck retired in February 2019 from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department as a Police Captain after nearly 27 years of service.

“I am humbled and honored to serve the community alongside the dedicated women and men of the Kauaʻi Police Department,” Raybuck said. “I look forward to working with Mayor Kawakami, the Police Commission, and the community to address public safety concerns and improve the quality of life on Kauaʻi. My family and I are excited to be moving from the ‘Ninth Island’ to the Garden Island, and we are grateful for the opportunity to become engaged members of the Kauaʻi community.”

His assignment at time of retirement was Bureau Commander of one of LVMPD’s nine patrol substations, and was responsible for leading police patrol and investigative services for the 250,000 residents across the 80 square miles of the southwest Las Vegas valley.

His other assignments included: Commander of the Organized Crime Bureau; Executive Lieutenant to the LVMPD/Clark County Sheriff; Lieutenant/Shift Commander on the Las Vegas “Strip” tourist and resort corridor; Traffic Bureau sergeant responsible for developing and managing traffic safety and enforcement strategies; Homeland Security sergeant responsible for managing critical infrastructure and dignitary protection efforts; detective assignments in the department’s vice section, narcotics section, and the criminal intelligence section; field training officer; resident/rural community patrol officer; and patrol officer.

Raybuck graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from Liberty University, Lynchburg, VA, in 2017, and is also a graduate of the 274th Session of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s National Academy in 2018.

He began his law enforcement career on O‘ahu, while stationed at Wheeler Air Force Base as a U.S. Air Force Security Police Law Enforcement Specialist from 1987 to 1990, and was honorably discharged as a Sergeant in 1991.

He will be moving to Kaua‘i with his wife Kelly, a retired LVMPD police officer with 22 years of service; and his two sons, Kyle and Connor.