Cloverdale Police chief goes on medical leave; interim chief named

Cloverdale Police Chief Stephen Cramer has gone on medical leave to battle recurring throat cancer and an interim chief has been named to temporarily lead the department.

Sgt. Chris Parker has been appointed acting chief in Cramer’s absence.

Cramer, 55, began his law enforcement career in 1997 with the Sonoma Police Department, where he rose to sergeant. In 2002, he left the department and worked for a year as a “fugitive recovery agent,” or bounty hunter.

In 2005, he returned to police work with the Cloverdale department, rising to field training officer, corporal and sergeant in 2010, prior to being chosen chief in 2015. He oversees a department authorized for 14 sworn officers.

City Manager Paul Cayler said the chief is facing an approximately 10-hour operation at the end of this month to remove the cancer and expected to be in the hospital for a week to 10 days, followed by a two-month recovery. He went through a similar surgery in 2014.

In his city manager’s weekly written report, Cayler said the chief will lose his vocal cords and will have to speak with an “eclectrolarynx instrument.”

“He expects to communicate just as freely as before,” Cayler said.