Candidate for IACP Vice President At Large: David Zibolski
David Zibolski was appointed Police Chief in Fargo, ND on October 5, 2020 and proudly leads the dedicated Fargo PD team, a department of 192 sworn and 28 civilian staff funded by a $27M budget that serves a population of 131,000. Prior to this appointment he served as the chief of police in Beloit, Wisconsin (2015-2020) where he led major organizational change within the department that positively affected leadership and culture, strengthened community relations, and saw the integration of progressive technology and best practices making Beloit a safer city. He began his career with the Milwaukee Police Department where he served 27 years, working his way up the ranks and retiring at the rank of captain in 2011. He held a variety of patrol, investigative and specialty unit commands. As deputy administrator for Wisconsin DOJ’s Division of Law Enforcement Services (2011-2015), he had operational responsibility of a statewide division that included training and standards for law enforcement, crime lab operations, crime information data, and justice statistics.
Zibolski is a graduate of the Northwestern School of Police Staff and Command (SPSC) #203, Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) Senior Management Institute for Police (SMIP) session #68, and the FBI’s Law Enforcement Executive Development Seminar (LEEDS) Class #82. He holds a master’s degree in organizational management and leadership from Springfield College.
Zibolski has been an IACP member for over 12 years serving on the Midsize Agencies Division Executive Committee since 2018. In 2023, he was appointed General Chair of the Midsize Agencies Division and to the IACP Executive Board. He has been a member of the IACP Board of Directors since 2019. He also serves as the Third Vice President for the Chiefs of Police Association of North Dakota, as well as other community and criminal justice related boards.
See his message to voters.
Candidate Statement
Throughout my 40 year career, I have strived to not only improve my own knowledge, skills, and leadership abilities, but to mentor, guide, and create future leaders. I am passionate about this and consider it my obligation to give back to our noble profession, because it will never be extinct—good policing will always be needed. My leadership acumen grew immensely after I was exposed to IACP’s Leadership in Policing (LPO) program in 2009 while a Captain with Milwaukee PD. In 2010, I became an LPO instructor and was soon assigned as the Milwaukee PD Academy Director. I officially joined IACP in 2012. I then went on to become a national LPO instructor, mentoring police leaders in a variety of cities across the U.S. I furthered this leadership philosophy—a key tenet of the IACP—within each organization I have had the privilege to lead, including my current role as Chief of the Fargo, ND Police Department.
I am also a strong proponent of officer wellness. In Fargo, we have utilized the resources of the IACP to bring in VALOR resiliency training for all staff via a COPS grant, hire our first-ever wellness coordinator, and through networking with the IACP Psychological Section, identify psychologists who are trained in trauma-informed public safety care for check-in’s and annual mental health checks. Our department presented on our wellness program at the Officer Safety & Wellness Conference in 2023 and 2025. These programs were critical in helping our agency transition through a tragic line of duty death and critical injury of two other officers that occurred in July 2023.
In this, and many other examples, such as our commitment to the IACP Trust Building Campaign, I have been heavily involved in the IACP individually and has a leader, steeping our department team into the philosophies and program opportunities that IACP offers. I have utilized the vast array of services and networks to better our personnel and organizations as well as our profession overall.
In turn, I have given back to and supported the IACP and its mission. I joined the Midsize Agencies Division (MSA) in 2017 shortly after it became a division. In 2018 I was appointed to the MSA Executive Committee as the Midwest Regional Chair and worked diligently with the committee to grow the division and bring in new ideas and approaches to further the mission of MSA and IACP. At the 2019 annual conference in Chicago, I participated on an LPO panel. In January 2020, I spearheaded a strategic planning meeting for the MSA Executive Committee, which helped to create a roadmap for the MSA to bring greater value to the IACP and our profession. I worked to bring in greater participation of our MSA members by collaborating with my fellow committee members to identify, vet, and organize midyear presentations by our members on policing issues of interest. The presentations were then provided at midyear conferences going forward. This was very successful, even during the COVID pandemic 2020- 2021, in which presentations and conferences were virtual.
In July of 2020 I was appointed to fill the MSA vice chair vacancy and was fully elected in October of 2020. During my term as vice chair, I served on IACP’s Resolutions Committee reviewing the many resolutions forwarded by the various IACP committees and sections, and was appointed as an ex-officio member of the IACP Board of Directors. This was a great opportunity to attend BOD meetings, expand my knowledge of the IACP—a complex and complicated organization—and participate in discussions to better our profession.
In October of 2023, I was appointed General Chair of MSA, as well as a voting member of the BOD and Executive Board. In December the first MSA regional phone meeting took place in the SE Region—an effort to broaden member participation that continues today. During the 2024 Midyear, MSA expanded our partnership with the IACP Policy and Research Center by starting a benchmarking process for midsize agencies.
As a member of the IACP Executive Board, I was assigned to serve as the IACP representative for the Investigations Policy Council, which consists of the Investigative Operations, Forensics, Vehicle Crimes, and Environmental Crimes Committee’s. I have enjoyed working with these professionals to further the vast knowledge and expertise they possess throughout the larger IACP. In addition, I serve on the Awards Committee Task Force and Intelligence Section Task Force.
Although I am running unopposed, I have received the unanimous endorsement of the Massachusetts, New York, and North Carolina Chiefs of Police Associations. Regardless, I seek your support for the Vice President at Large position so I may continue to contribute to the important and positive work of the IACP, as it continues to enhance leadership and shape the future of our noble policing profession. It is imperative that we grow, develop, and mentor future police leaders, support and ensure the wellness of our staff at all levels, and collaborate with our communities to maintain safety and protect the vulnerable from harm. I am committed to these goals and ask for your vote in Denver to allow me to serve as Vice President at Large.
Respectfully, David B. Zibolski
Chief of Police, City of Fargo
IACP Board and Executive Board member
General Chair—IACP Midsize Agencies Division
