Chaffee names interim chief head of police department

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- While he has been put in charge before, Martin Keys' new position as Chaffee's police chief will be one that takes some getting used to.

"It's kind of odd to me when they call me chief. I'm not really comfortable with it yet," he said.

Keys, a former Chaffee patrolman and interim police chief, was promoted Aug. 21 to the town's full-time police chief. He takes the position left vacant with the death of former chief Jeff Womack.

Womack, 53, of Chaffee died from an apparent heart attack July 31 after returning from a two-week vacation visiting family in North Carolina. He had been Chaffee's police chief for more than two years.

Full-time position

After the death, the Chaffee City Council appointed Keys as interim chief during a special council meeting. Three weeks later, at the recommendation of the police personnel board, Keys was hired on as the full-time chief.

Keys has been with the Chaffee Police Department for four years and also served with the Scott City and Delta police departments. Before Womack's death, Keys would be placed in charge whenever the chief went on vacation.

To fill Keys' now-vacant patrolman position, an employee working as a reserve officer and full-time dispatcher was promoted to full-time officer, the chief said.

A reserve dispatcher was promoted to fill the new dispatcher void, and two new reserve dispatchers were hired, according to minutes from Chaffee's city council meeting Aug. 21.

For the most part, Keys said the department would continue to operate the way it did when Womack was in charge, something he believed the townspeople and city council wanted.

"I don't think anybody in town was looking for a big change," he said.

Keys said he would continue Womack's mantra of "solve the problem," focusing on finding the best solutions instead of just making arrests or handing out tickets.

"Hopefully everybody's happy, and if they're not, they can come see me and we'll work it out," he said.

kmorrison@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127