Decatur Police Department hires new full-time officer
DECATUR — The city of Decatur, like its sister cities in Northwest Arkansas, is a safe and healthy place to raise a family, attend church and own a business, thanks in large part to a group of dedicated men and women whose job it is to keep the community safe. Soon a new face will be taking to the streets to serve, protect and defend the rights of all who dwell inside and outside of the city.
After a month-long search for a new full-time officer, Decatur Police Chief Steven Grizzle finally found the right candidate to fill the position. Luke Rouhselang was hired on March 8 and formally went on duty March 10 as Decatur’s new full-time police officer.
Back in January, Chief Grizzle began crunching numbers to see if his department could hire a new
full-time officer. Chief Grizzle then presented his findings to Mayor Bob Tharp and Kim Wilkins, city clerk, who confirmed his budget numbers.
After presenting his findings to the Decatur City Council during the Feb. 8 meeting, the chief was given the go-ahead to start the search process. After a temporary hold, the Chief was cleared to continue his search which ended with the hiring of Rouhselang.
Rouhselang is no stranger to this area, having grown up in the Bentonville and Siloam Springs area most all of his life. After graduating from high school, he joined the Marine Corps where he spent eight years serving his country. While in the Marines, Rouhselang’s interest in becoming a law enforcement officer began to take shape.
While serving in the Marines, Rouhselang decided to attend college and enrolled at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway.
“They had a little police department on campus and that is what sparked my interest in law enforcement,” said Rouhselang. “I was able to become a dispatcher, which allowed me the chance to get into law enforcement, one, and two, to become a police officer.”
When Rouhselang turned 21, he tried out to become an officer and eventually UCA hired him as a campus police officer. He worked for that department in Conway for a while before switching direction and going into business security for a while.
“After I went into business security, I got away from law enforcement,” Rouhselang recalled. “While I was working on a security detail, I got deployed overseas for about a year.”
While overseas, Rouhselang began to miss his family and really wanted to return to Northwest Arkansas. So, after his deployment was over, he returned to his family, friends and the area. Once he got back, his interest in law enforcement was rekindled.
“I really enjoyed being a police officer. I wanted to gain more experience and see what it would be like becoming an officer in a city environment,” Rouhselang said. “I was able to be hired on at Centerton where I lived and worked for a while and now I am in Decatur. It has been an adventure. I worked through some good times and bad times, but I am really excited to start the next chapter of my life in Decatur.”
Chief Grizzle sees Rouhselang as a much-needed asset for the Decatur Police Department, as well as for the residents of Decatur.
“Luke will be starting with Corporal (Lance) Dixon on Monday (March 15),” said Grizzle. “We have a program that provides on-the-job training. In Luke’s case, it makes it so much easier to get him familiarized with what we do since he is already certified and has experience working in law enforcement somewhere. We basically are going to work with him to get him used to our system and how our department works.”
Over the next 12 weeks, Luke Rouhselang will go through the ins and outs of the Decatur Police Department, learning all the ordinances, reporting systems and the layout of the city itself. Grizzle has confidence that he will pick up on his department procedures and become a valuable member of the Decatur Police Department.
“Once we get him up and running, within about two weeks he will be ready to go,” Grizzle concluded. “He is a very smart kid and hopefully, with the help of his fellow officers on the Decatur force, along with the ones from surrounding agencies, Luke will stay with us for a long time and may someday become the next police chief.”