Lieutenant Karl Bulla was born and raised in the City of St. Louis and now resides in O'Fallon, Missouri with his wife and children. He enjoys coaching ice hockey, photography, and spending time with his family.
Lieutenant Bulla joined the Department in June 1985 and was assigned to the South County Precinct where he served in the Commercial Overlay Program(C.O.P.), and as a precinct gang officer. In April of 1994, he was transferred to the Department's Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) Unit and taught both the D.A.R.E and Gang Resistance Education and Training (G.R.E.A.T.) Program curriculum in North St. Louis County for four years. He provided these programs to the youth in both the public and private schools within the Hazelwood School District.
In May 1998 he was transferred to the City of Fenton Precinct where he both taught D.A.R.E. and was one of three officers assigned to the newly formed Bike/Parks Unit. In October 1999 he was promoted to the rank of Sergeant and spent four months with Fenton as a new supervisor, then transferred in January to the North County Precinct. In 2001 he was transferred to the Metrolink Police Unit. In 2010, he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant and transferred to the South County precinct. From there he was transferred to the Central County Precinct in 2012, where he is currently assigned as a watch commander.
For the last 15 years, Lieutenant Bulla has served on the Memorial Breakfast Committee to honor the officers from our department that gave their lives in the line of duty. He also serves as a Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) supervisor for the department.
Lieutenant Bulla graduated from Lutheran High South in 1982 and received a Bachelor of Science Degree from Southeast Missouri State University in May 1985. During the last twenty-one years with the Department Lieutenant Bulla has received a Chief's Commendation, the Department's Purple Heart Award, three letters of commendation and numerous letters of citizen appreciation.