Davis hired as Ash Grove’s new top cop

Sgt. Bell promoted to be assistant chief of police in department
 
Ash Grove will soon have a new police chief. Mayor Les Gardner announced that John Davis, the deputy chief of police in the Lamar Police Department, was offered the job and has accepted. He will likely start sometime in mid- February.
Davis was one of three candidates for the job; he competed against Sgt. Bob Bell, of the Ash Grove Police Department, and Gilbert Correa, a 25-year veteran of the Springfield Police Department.
Davis brings wide range of experience to department
With 36 years experience, Davis has worn many hats. According to a posting on the Lamar Police Department’s Facebook page, he has held the ranks of patrol officer, field training officer, corporal, sergeant, lieutenant, major and deputy chief.
He has also been a firearms instructor, K-9 officer, defensive tactics instructor, detective and a member of the Southwest Missouri Major Case Squad.
Davis said he also has a lot of experience in the administrative side of police work.
“As far as (administration),” he said, “I write policies, I review policies, so I’m very familiar with policies. I’m also in charge of the budget, as far as the handling of the budget, preparation of the budget. I’ve (also) got a lot of experience in the municipal government, inside the police department and outside the police department by helping in tasks over on the city hall
side.”
Both job and city a good fit
Davis said he wanted to come to Ash Grove, not only for the job, but to be close to his hometown of Springfield.
“Once I started climbing the ranks inside the police department,” he said, “I figured out that someday I would want to lead my own department, and coming back to the Springfield area is what I want to do. And Ash Grove, I’ve been … around Ash Grove. It’s a great community, and I’m really going to enjoy the community, the people that I’ve met throughout the years. I’ve got friends that live here. I’ve got siblings that live close by in Willard, Springfield and Strafford, so it’s just a good fit for me to advance my career as well as serve the public, which was my only reason for being a police officer.”
Another reason for coming to Ash Grove, Davis said, was its potential to grow.
“It’s a very progressive community,” he said. “They’ve got a bright future ahead of them; I want to be part of that future. I think they’re going to grow and right now, in a small community, growing is very difficult. But I think they’ve got good potential, and I think they can grow, and I want to be part of
that.”
Building back the department
As the new Ash Grove Chief of Police, Davis said, one of the challenges in his new job would be to fill vacancies in the department. He added that one of the obstacles to hiring new police officers would be the salaries offered by surrounding communities.
“You have to compete against towns in your region and their salaries,” he said. “You take Willard, Springfield, Ozark, Nixa; they’re all paying … a lot more than what we can afford to pay here in Ash Grove. So, we have to take all that into consideration (as) we build the department.”
While some police officers may take a job in a small town to start their careers, Davis said he plans to stay with Ash Grove.
“I’m not looking to build my resume here,” he said. “This will be the last town that I work for.”
Hiring forum
Davis and the other candidates for the job were introduced to the community at a “Meet and Greet” event on Thursday, Jan. 6, at the Ash Grove Sunshine Center. At the forum, the candidates each had the opportunity to speak to members of the community. The candidates each told the audience why they wanted to be the new chief and how they were qualified for the job; they also answered questions from members of the audience.
After the three candidates spoke to the audience, they were each privately interviewed by the city council and Gardner.
Bell promoted, new code enforcement officer to be hired
Earlier this week, following the announcement of the new chief, Gardner also announced that Sgt. Bell would be promoted to the position of Assistant Chief of Police and given new responsibilities. It was also announced that the city would soon be filling the position of code enforcement officer; this person will be responsible maintaining ordinances and inspections for
the city.