David Ewing went from painting a police station in Alaska to running one in Arkansas.
“It has been quite an adventure, for sure, to get to this point,” Ewing said. “I initially took it on as a second job because I was working full time at a grocery store, and [at the department], I was painting, dispatching, [being a] jailer — whatever they needed me to do.
“It has been pretty surreal.”
On May 1, Ewing was named chief of police for the Russellville Police Department. He replaces former chief Jeff Humphrey, who retired after 32 years.
“David Ewing’s 26 years of law enforcement experience, including 23 within the Russellville Police Department, his optimistic attitude, the respect that he has obtained from fellow police officers and his passion for working in the community were all considerations that led to my selection of David as the next police chief,” Russellville Mayor Richard Harris said in a statement.
“After the announcement of David Ewing as Russellville’s new police chief, I have had nothing but positive feedback from law enforcement and citizens in our community,” Harris said. “I am proud to have been able to select the new police chief and am even more proud to have been able to select David Ewing for that position.”
Ewing started his law enforcement career with the Cordova Police Department in Alaska. He moved there with his wife, Melanie, after they got married. Her father was a commercial fisherman, and Ewing said he and his wife were “young and adventurous.”
Ewing, who is originally from Harrison, said moving to Alaska took some adjustment.
“Like I said, I did some dispatching for them, and one night we had a tsunami warning, but I didn’t know what a tsunami was,” Ewing said. “We don’t have those in Arkansas. I felt kind of stupid. There were some adjustments for an Arkansas boy up there.”
Ewing said that eventually, the job felt like a calling, and he enrolled in the police academy. His first full-time job as an officer was for the Bethel Police Department in Bethel, Alaska. He said it was a different law enforcement experience, as well, because it “was out in the bush.”
Ewing and his wife eventually decided to move back to Arkansas to be closer to family. He said the two discussed having children, and the thought of their kids only seeing their grandparents once a year was not something the couple wanted.
“All of our family is from this area, and we didn’t want to be that far from grandparents, so I tried to find a job here,” he said. “I landed in Texarkana for a couple of years, and I have been with Russellville ever since.”
Gary Sipes, executive director for the Arkansas Association of Chiefs of Police, said he has known Ewing for about four years. The two met through their association and work together on the Arkansas Law Enforcement Accreditation Program, for which Ewing is the chairman.
“David is a very intelligent individual, and he thinks things through,” Sipes said. “He is a very likeable individual, and he always strives for the best in whatever he is doing.
“Just based on what I know and what I’m seeing, I think he will be an outstanding chief. He has a lot of resources he can contact, and I think he is going to make Russellville a great chief.”
Ewing said one reason he wanted to become an officer is seeing the difference in people’s lives.
“I felt like I was doing something more meaningful, and I felt like it was a calling from God,” he said. “Next thing I knew, I was in it. … We are a part of the community and are providing good and safe fun.
“Occasionally, you get to help people turn their lives around and get the help they need. I’ve had my ups and downs, but when you get the ‘thank you,’ you realize you are a part of something bigger in the lives of people.”
Ewing oversees 57 officers, and he said two of the biggest challenges with the Russellville Police Department, or any department, are the recruiting and the retention of officers.
“It is difficult to provide quality services when you are always short-handed,” Ewing said. “We are painfully midsize, but we want to do more in community relations and offer more resources, such as K-9 units, and help enhance our public safety.
“It is hard to do that when our numbers are always hurting and we can’t keep quality candidates. I figure that will continue being a challenge moving forward.”
Ewing said Chief Humphrey did a great job of making the department more professional, and Ewing said he just wants to keep raising the bar higher and prepare for growth.
“It is a very difficult job,” he said. “We are there to provide safety and security for the public and engagement with the public at parades and special events and do more than enforcement.
“We want to be part of the community and give it our full attention and be a part of something bigger and help in a variety of ways. We are more service-oriented than we have ever been.”
He said that when he first started in law enforcement, he didn’t imagine ever becoming chief.
“There was a cool factor [to being a police officer], for sure,” Ewing said. “As I’ve grown into it and have seen the big picture, and as I moved up in rank and got closer to being chief, I thought I had a chance to be chief of police, and I started to focus on the task at hand.”
One reason he considered becoming chief was the community support he received, he said. Last year, he helped organize and plan the annual RussVegas Half Marathon.
“I had several people ask me to consider being chief, and when you have that support from members of the community, you began to think, ‘Maybe they are right,’” Ewing said. “I just stood on my merits and put my name in the hat.
“It was very surreal when I got it, knowing where I started, moving up in the ranks and doing my job to my best ability to get to this point. Officers put their faith in me to lead this department. It is pretty surreal.”
Staff writer Sam Pierce can be reached at (501) 244-4314 or spierce@arkansasonline.com.