BVPD hires officer who's a good fit
Bella Vista just hired another police officer, Chase Henry, who will be the last officer Police Chief Ken Farmer hires before his retirement in May, barring any turnover.
“He seems like a fine young man,” Farmer said. “And he’s looking for a career, not just a short-term job, and I think he’s got the attitude necessary to make a good police officer.”
Officer Henry said that, while he initially went into higher education for agricultural business and veterinary medicine, he’s been looking for a change now that his parents’ black Angus farm is mostly self-sustaining.
He spent a lot of time outdoors growing up, he said, and he wanted to do something outside. He considered military service, he said, but something about law enforcement felt right. He wants to help people, he said, and help build a bond between the police force and the community.
His friend on the force, officer V.J. Wilson, took him for a few ride-alongs, he said, and then he tried out for the Bella Vista Police Department.
“I applied to other departments,” he said, “but this is the one that felt like home.”
The timing, he said, has also worked out nicely with his family life. He and his wife, Miranda Henry, are expecting a baby, he said, and that lines up nicely enough with his training — he expects to be through both the academy and in-house training before the child is born, so he should have time for his family.