A LIKELY STORY: NEW POLICE CHIEF GOOD MAN WITH GOOD IDEAS

And he also proved first impressions aren't always right.

OK, I'll admit it: My very first impression of Cape Girardeau's new police chief was not a good one.

My initial view came before I ever laid eyes on Rick Hetzel, who came to us from Norcross, Ga., where he had been chief since 1992.

My first impression came while I sat outside his office 20 minutes after we were supposed to have met for a scheduled interview. The appointment was at 1. At 1:20, I was still sitting impatiently outside his office with a photographer.

I had arrived 10 minutes early to make a good first impression myself and now ... well, maybe he didn't care much for the press, I remember thinking.

That thought disturbed me. As a reporter, a good relationship with the police chief is important. I know I was being hasty, but it seemed like things were getting off on the wrong foot.

Of course, if he didn't like the press, he wouldn't be the first law enforcement official to consider the media a useless pain that usually gets in the way at crime scenes.

Apparently, my journalistic intuition needs a little honing. After showing up, he apologized profusely. It turned out he had a family emergency that caused him to be late.

I told him it was no problem.

It also turns out that Mr. Hetzel -- Rick -- is a hell of a nice guy who looks to be a good chief. He comes with a lot of experience. A native Missourian, Hetzel holds a master's degree in criminal justice administration from Webster University in St. Louis. He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Va.

He worked for 17 years with the Army Criminal Investigation Division.

But Hetzel doesn't come to us with just good experience, he comes with good ideas.

He helped Georgia become one of the first states to initiate a state-wide program that places a police officer in high schools full-time. He said he will look into making that a reality here.

I think that's a great idea. Not just as a crime deterrent but to let the kids know that cops aren't the bad guys. He said in Georgia, the police were there to counsel as well.

Rick Hetzel also thinks that setting up a network with hotels and motels for an exchange of information with the police department would benefit Cape Girardeau.

As you know, the traveling element of the criminal element tends to work out of hotels and motels. When a shady character is seen carrying speakers from his car to his hotel room, they'll call the cops.

It makes sense, right?

He also informed me that he thinks working with the media is important and he will do his best to develop a good working relationship with me. I found that reassuring.

People within the department are already comparing him to Ray Johnson, who was police chief during the '80s. For the people who worked with him, Johnson has become synonymous with good leadership and effective management.

Those are impressive endorsements. And the first words out of Hetzel's mouth were a bit impressive, too.

"A good leader is determined by what he does -- not what he says," he told me. This means he understood what I already knew. That no matter what he told me, no matter what he promised to do, he would have to prove himself. Not to me.

But to the community.

Scott Moyers is a staff writer for the Southeast Missourian.