Following the retirement of former police Chief Gary Ratliff in June, League City has a new chief: Clifford “Cliff” Woitena, who has been part of League City Police Department since 1999.

The gist

League City City Council on Sept. 12 unanimously appointed Woitena as police chief. He was immediately sworn in after.

According to a city news release, Woitena “values the opportunity to serve the men and women of the League City Police Department and is honored to have spent his career serving such a wonderful community.”

Woitena is a husband and a father to four children.


Zooming in

According to the release, Woitena has served in the following roles with the department and beyond:
  • Interim police chief
  • Assistant police chief
  • K9 officer
  • Field training officer
  • Maritime safety enforcement officer
  • Bicycle patrol officer
  • Firearms/tactics instructor
  • Certified mental health officer
  • Honor Guard member
  • Galveston County Auto Crimes Task Force agent
  • Various supervisory positions in the Operations and Support Service bureaus
  • SWAT team member
  • Commander of the Combined Agency Response Team for League City, Alvin and Pearland
  • ALERRT Center and Safariland Training Group instructor
  • U.S. Marine Corps veteran, attaining the rank of sergeant
The details

Woitena has the following degrees and licenses, according to the release:
  • Texas Master Peace Officer License
  • Bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Midwestern State University
  • Master’s degree in Leadership and Management from Sam Houston State University
  • Graduate certificate in criminal justice education from the University of Virginia
  • Graduate of the 89th class of Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas
  • Graduate of the 258th session of the FBI’s National Academy
One more thing

In addition, Woitena has received three medals of valor from the League City Police Department, an Officer of the Year Award for Heroism from the 100 Club of Houston and an Officer of the Year Award from the League City Citizens Police Academy, according to the release.
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