September 21, 2023
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
LHISD Office of Communications
(512) 260-5580

The Liberty Hill ISD Board of Trustees are thrilled to announce the hiring of Chris Rybarski as our new LHISD Chief of Police!

Rybarski has been in law enforcement for 25 years. He joined the Austin Police Department in 1998, following his service in the U.S. Army. During his tenure Rybarski spent 10 years with the Austin Police Bomb Squad as a certified Bomb Technician, Explosive Breacher, SWAT team member and team leader and instructor for the Austin Police Department Dive Team. 

Rybarski coordinated operations for large-scale events within the City of Austin, including the World Trade Conference, the University of Texas Football Team home games as a render safe team and vehicle search team, the annual South by Southwest Music Festival, and the Formula One event, as well as several local events. 

He also worked jointly with the US Secret Service, coordinating presidential visits, including security of presidential motorcade routes and security checks of all locations for presidential stops and overnight stays, and in securing venue sites for several presidential campaign functions, including the Barack Obama/Hillary Clinton campaign, President George W. Bush reelection campaign, as well as routine visits from President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush. 

In addition, Rybarski is a certified hazardous material technician and State of Texas fire investigator. He was promoted to detective in 2012 and was assigned to the Organized Crime Division, Narcotics Team II, where he conducted investigations into the sale of illegal narcotics and also conducted counterfeiting investigations in conjunction with U.S. Customs. In 2016, Rybarski was assigned to the Federal Bureau Investigation, Joint Terrorism Task Force, where he conducted federal investigations involving international and domestic terrorism, was a lead investigator during the Austin Bomber investigation, was tasked with investigating school shooting threats within the Central Texas region, and instructed numerous schools in school threat assessments, as well as behavioral assessments. He retired from the Austin Police Department in 2021 and soon thereafter joined the Texas Attorney General’s Office, Child Exploitation Unit, which focuses on catching individuals who promote/possess child pornography.  

As the new LHISD police chief, Rybarski will be responsible for ensuring the safety of our students and staff across the district as he will lead his team of campus police officers. When asked about becoming our new Chief of Police, Rybarski said, “I am excited about this new journey in my law enforcement career and look forward to working with my fellow law enforcement officers at LHISD PD and the staff faculty, students and parents of LHISD!”

Chris Rybarski and Laurel, his wife of 33 years, have lived in Liberty Hill for the past 23 years, and all three of their children attended and graduated from Liberty Hill ISD. They are new empty nesters, as their youngest child graduated from LHISD last school year and has gone on to college. Laurel is a paralegal with the Whole Foods Market legal team. Chris was heavily involved with the Liberty Hill Youth League, wherein he coached baseball, softball, and basketball. He is an active member with the world (Liberty Hill) famous Panther Pit Crew, which promotes and supports school functions and youth throughout the community. He is the assistant rescue coordinator and diver for the Southern Drag Boat Association, and he has done this for the past 18 years. Chris and Laurel are avid hockey fans and attend most Texas Stars home games. Chris enjoys barbequing, entertaining and feeding family and friends whenever possible.