Deputy Police Chief Ron Gibson is known for saying, “Don’t worry about the mule, boss, just keep piling on the wagon.”

After 30 years of being the mule, it is Gibson’s turn to be the boss.

Gibson, 51, retired Thursday from the Colorado Springs Police Department. On June 1, he will start his new job as police chief in Redmond, Wash.

“Our profession will be better with him taking this new role,” Colorado Springs Police Chief Richard Myers said. “He’s earned his wings. He’s going to fly. In fact, he’ll soar.”

In a ceremony Thursday, Gibson’s colleagues and community leaders spoke of him as a man of honesty and integrity who rose through the ranks of the CSPD by putting the department first.

Gibson joined the department as a patrol officer in September 1979. He was promoted to sergeant in 1990, lieutenant in 1996 and commander in 2001 and has served as deputy chief of patrol operations since 2007.

He is leaving a job that had a base pay of about $130,000 in 2009.

“I am truly grateful for the experience. I am truly honored to have served the men and women of the Colorado Springs Police Department,” Gibson said.

Redmond, the corporate headquarters of Microsoft, Nintendo and Eddie Bauer, is likely to offer slower-paced police work than Colorado Springs. District Attorney Dan May needled Gibson about what awaits him, reading from Redmond’s police blotter that on April 11, there was a report of a rock through a window. On April 8, a 35-year-old man rear-ended a police car.

“I hope it’s not the only one,” May said.

At times Colorado Springs Police Department Deputy Chief Ron Gibson fought back emotions, and failed, as he was honored for his 30 years of service to the CSPD during a retirement ceremony on Thursday, May. 6. 2010. Gibson will become the Police Chief for Redmond, Wash. Photo by Bryan Oller, The Gazette

A standing ovation was given to Deputy Chief of the Colorado Springs Police Department Ron Gibson as he kissed his wife, Esther, during his retirement ceremony on Thursday, May. 6. 2010. Gibson will become the Police Chief for Redmond, Washington. Photo by Bryan Oller, The Gazette