A local police officer who has devoted much of his life to protecting his community is being recognized for his dedication upon his retirement from law enforcement.
Ofc. Ronald Jacoby is retiring after 15 years of service with the Springfield Township Police Department in Bucks County and nearly half a century of service as a law enforcement professional. Jacoby, who is a Lower Saucon Township resident, was previously employed as a Lower Saucon Township police officer and in other local communities. (Contributed photo)
Ofc. Ronald “Ron” Jacoby of the Springfield Township Police Department in upper Bucks County is highly deserving of recognition for his professionalism and commitment to duty over the course of a career that has spanned nearly 50 years, Chief Michael McDonald said Tuesday.
“Ron’s service as a police officer was exemplary and was the absolute definition of professional,” said McDonald of Jacoby, who is a Lower Saucon Township resident. “His patience, calmness and deep wisdom of the job will be sorely missed.”
Ofc. Jacoby began his law enforcement career in 1976 as a military police officer with the U.S. Air Force.
McDonald noted that as an MP, Jacoby was stationed all over the country, including at bases in California, the Dakotas and Alaska. After honorably leaving the Air Force in 1982, he pursued a career in local law enforcement, serving as an officer with the Bangor and Nazareth police departments until 1987, when he was hired as a full-time officer by the Lower Saucon Township Police Department.
According to a 1990 Morning Call article, Jacoby was the department’s Officer of the Year in 1989, after he scored the highest in the 13 policing categories on which the award was then based. A January 2009 Morning Call article that was published around the time of his retirement from the LSTPD noted that Jacoby served as the department’s first defensive tactics instructor from 1991 to 2005 and was also a criminal investigation officer and a protection-from-abuse officer in Lower Saucon beginning in the early 2000s.
Jacoby was employed by the Lower Saucon Police Department for over 20 years before he was hired by the Springfield Township Police Department, and he served Springfield Township with dedication for just over 15 years, the chief said.
“(Springfield Township) was lucky enough to snag him…(and) I made sure Ofc. Jacoby knew this,” McDonald said. “We may be seeking to fill his vacancy in the police department, but let it be known and let me be very clear, he will NEVER be replaced.”
“We wish him and his family the best of luck and happiness during his well-deserved retirement years,” he added.
