CENTERTON -- A new police chief will take office today in Centerton.
Rodney Reed will head the 16-man department. Mayor Bill Edwards announced the appointment late Monday afternoon to city officers.
Reed was chief in Bethel Heights starting in February 2014. He resigned that position to take the one in Centerton.
Centerton's former chief, Lance Johnson, retired effective Feb. 13. Lt. Cody Harper served as interim chief during the search.
Applications were due Feb. 20 and all 26 applicants -- except the three who he could not reach -- had a phone interview by the next day, Edwards said.
A committee of two council members, a citizen and Little Flock police chief Jesse Martinez interviewed nine candidates.
"I wanted to look these people in the eye," Edwards said.
Two candidates -- Reed and James Bacon -- were called back for interviews. Bacon, an investigator with the Arkansas Municipal League, was police chief in Nixa, Mo., from 2006 until his retirement in 2013. Both were strong candidates, Edwards said.
Officers and some retired officers living in Bentonville, Pea Ridge, Centerton, Fayetteville, Lowell Bella Vista -- even some as far as Magnolia -- applied for the job. There was one applicant from South Carolina, but most were in state. There were two internal candidates.
The committee was looking for more than five years supervisory experience and a chief who would work alongside the officers, Edwards said.
The chief in Centerton will patrol.
"He probably will have to make traffic stops," Edwards said.
By the time the decision was made he'd been in interviews with Reed for more than eight hours, Edwards said. His experiences as shift supervisor for 10 years appealed to the board, although the appointment was Edwards' to make.
Reed fit the committee's list of qualifications, said Skye Petty, councilman, and he showed a willingness to work with the officers already at the department.
"He's not going to be administrative and sit back," Petty said.
The city has a great police station, the vehicles are in good shape and the department is well equipped, Petty said. The top goal for the new chief will be to build a team.
It's the chief's department to run, but there are areas the department can improve, Edwards said.
The growing department will need to add rank structure and make sure there's the correct manpower. Currently there is a shift supervisor on two of three shifts. A Tuesday afternoon posting on the city's Facebook page advertised a position open for a patrol officer.
Reed said he retired from the Fort Smith Police Department after 19 1/2 years to take the Bethel Heights position, because he wanted to be in Northwest Arkansas. He said he is sad to leave and wishes his former co-workers all the best.
"Bethel Heights was a great start for me as being chief of police," he said.
The Centerton position offered a larger opportunity in a growing area. In Bethel Heights he supervised a 13-person department. Centerton's is a 16-person department.
Reed was in Fort Smith from August 1994 to February 2014. He was a patrolman, training officer, in the criminal investigation division, a bailiff and trained patrol officers, he said.
Reed, who lives in Lowell, said he plans to move to Centerton.
"It's a community and it's growing and it has so much to offer people," he said.
He said he worked to build the Bethel Heights department and wants to make Centerton one of the best in the state, building professionalism and teamwork.
Reed will be paid $55,000 a year.
A formal swearing-in ceremony will be scheduled for next week, Edwards said.
NW News on 03/25/2015