UWPD Police Chief Sue Riseling announces August retirement

UW-Madison Police Chief Sue Riseling announced her retirement Wednesday.

Riseling will leave the UW-Madison Police Department Aug. 7 after serving on the force for 25 years, according to a UW-Madison news release.

Assistant Chief Brian Bridges will assume the position of interim chief. Riseling will continue on to lead the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators.

Riseling was the first woman and youngest person to become chief of a Big Ten university police force. According to the release, crime rate was at its lowest in 40 years during Riseling’s time with UWPD. In her 25 years as chief, she held various other leadership roles, including vice president at large for the International Association of Chiefs of Police. She also wrote a book, “A View from the Interior: Policing the Protests at the Wisconsin State Capitol,” and won numerous awards, according to the release.

Riseling dealt with serious cases since the beginning of her UW-Madison career, including a crowd surge at a Badger football game, and worked to develop precaution measured for campus safety post-9/11. She also led forces to combat issues including sexual assault, risky alcohol behavior and more as these problems became more prominent in the last several years.

Chancellor Rebecca Blank praised Riseling’s efforts for the UW-Madison campus.

“I can’t think of a campus figure who has been a more integral part of our recent history,” Blank said in the news release. “Chief Riseling has developed a national reputation as one of the best campus police chiefs in the nation. I appreciate all of her work to keep our community safe, to train and lead a superb group of police officers, and to navigate an always-complex political environment.”