Dave Ramer began his law enforcement career with the Chandler Police Department in 1999. As an officer, he worked in patrol, was a certified field training officer and general instructor. From patrol, he was assigned to the Criminal Investigations Bureau, working as a detective in the Family Crimes Unit where he investigated domestic violence crimes, child abuse, elderly abuse and missing person cases. In this role, he received various trainings to assist in these types of investigations to include forensic child interviews, missing person response, mechanisms of injuries and interviewing abuse suspects. As a detective he worked several high-profile investigations. After spending some time in detectives, he moved to the Public Information Office where he worked closely with the media on several prominent investigations and events involving the Chandler Police Department.
He then promoted to the rank of sergeant where he supervised field operation teams and served as an administrative sergeant for the Desert Breeze Precinct. Upon promoting to lieutenant, he was assigned to the patrol division as a shift commander where he oversaw the field training program and the bike team. Later he was assigned as the shift commander with responsibilities over the department’s fleet operations. While over the fleet, he assisted with the redesign of the department’s police car graphics as well as the internal configurations of the patrol car to allow for a better workspace for officers. Later he served as the lieutenant over the Person Crimes section of the Criminal Investigation Bureau. In September of 2018, he was promoted to commander and was assigned police operations out of the Main Precinct. In October of 2019 he was promoted to Assistant Chief of Police to oversee the Professional Services Division. In January of 2023 he assume responsibility for Patrol Operations Division and the Operational Support Division.
Chief Ramer has dedicated many hours of service to various non-profit groups and continues to be highly involved with the community. From 2007 to 2021 he served with the Law Enforcement Torch Run, to benefit Special Olympics. In the Law Enforcement Torch Run he served in various capacities to include state director. He then sat on the board of directors for Special Olympics of Arizona. He has also been involved with the Boy Scouts of America for over twenty-five years where he filled various roles in scouting to include scout master and unit commissioner. He is an Eagle Scout and strives to follow the scout slogan. He has led and assisted in numerous community service projects. Over the years he has been recognized for his commitment to the community, twice being awarded the department’s Community Service Award, twice recognized with the James R. Snedigar Public Service Award, and in 2015 he was recognized by the Law Enforcement Torch Run with the Jon Carion Unsung Hero Award. He currently serves on the board of directors for AZCEND, a non-profit dedicated to helping families and individuals in need.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology with a focus on organizational issues from Arizona State University and he is a graduate of the Northwestern School of Police Staff and Command.