Tag Archives: Sheriff’s Chief Ralph DeBartolo

It isn’t uncommon for young boys to play cops and robbers as children, and Ralph DeBartolo was one of those boys. “I loved playing as a kid, and I always wanted to be the cop,” he says. After serving 18 months in Korea, and two years total in the U.S. Army, DeBartolo returned home to Chicago and started to work construction. That changed when his buddy told him he had found an article in the paper announcing openings for 500 police officers. He remembered his days playing cops and robbers, and thought, “Why not?” After taking the exam, he was …