CHAFFEE HIRES POLICE CHIEF

CHAFFEE -- The Chaffee City Council has taken two decisive steps toward moving the Chaffee Police Department in a positive direction.

First, the council Tuesday night approved an ordinance that will redefine and rename the police commission. The ordinance streamlines the commission's responsibilities and brings it into compliance with a statute governing the actions of a police personnel board.

The second step was to hire a new police chief, Keith Carr.

Carr, who has a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Southeast Missouri State University, has worked for the university's Department of Public Safety, the Jacksonville Police Department and the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department. He was also a member of the Cape Girardeau-Bollinger Counties Major Case Squad.

"I feel prepared to take over the position," he said. "I'm just eager to get going. I'm fairly familiar with the city of Chaffee, but I don't know a lot of the people. I'm sure I'll learn that though."

Carr, who started as police chief Wednesday, has been schooled in drug intervention, death investigation and computer entry and retrieval. He has attended a number of seminars and four-day instructional classes on a variety of police related issues. He sees a few small things he'd like to improve upon right away at the Chaffee Police Department.

"I'd like to get the officers more training," he said. "It's hard to get technical experience in a small town. I'd like to get them some more training in evidence handling. There are some little things like scheduling I'd like to look into right away. But really nothing major."

Carr fills the position left vacant after James Haney resigned suddenly in July.

Haney never completely explained his reasons for leaving as police chief, but speculation in the community has focused on the role of the police commission in the workings of the police department as one possibility.

Mayor Bill Cannon said prior to Tuesday's meeting the city's system of management of the police department needed to be modernized to accommodate the supervision of the city's first full-time city administrator.

Ron Eskew was hired in August to oversee all departments of Chaffee's city government, including the police force. An initial attempt by the city council in August to eliminate the police commission brought a storm of controversy and forced the council to try a different approach.

Tuesday night an ordinance reducing the commission's role in governing the police department was approved and will probably be put into place at the council's next meeting.

The ordinance makes the commission into an advisory personnel board that has the power to review personnel and decisions concerning personnel within the police department. The board can review applications, personnel assessments and hear appeals by disciplined personnel, then recommend a course of action to the city council.

Councilman Jerry Wolsey said the ordinance removed three of the commission's powers that were in conflict with statutes relating to personnel boards.

The first was the commission's ability to instigate rules regarding the duties and behavior of police officers. The second was the ability of the commission to fine, reprimand, demote or dismiss police officers. The third was the power to direct or establish the training of police officers.

"I've always had a problem with the section about setting rules regarding behavior and duties of police officers," Wolsey said. "Of the three sections removed that was the one that needed to go the most."

The size of the four-member commission was not changed. The restructuring was accepted by all the members of the commission, Wolsey said.

"This has worked out very well," he said. "We've had problems in the past defining the police merit system but there is no reason why it shouldn't work now."

Carr said he supports the move "whole heartedly."