Anderson Police Department hires three previous Goodman officers

ANDERSON — The Anderson Police Department has hired three full-time officers who left the Goodman Police Department following the election of Mayor John Bunch. Hired officers include Adam Miller, the previous Goodman Police Chief, Carter Graue, and Preston Kalgren.

Anderson Police Chief David Abbott said the three new fulltime officers have helped the Anderson department become fully staffed with the potential for additional part-time officers from Goodman to be hired.

“This made us fully staffed as far as our patrol guys go, and it gave me a night shift supervisor,” Abbott said.

Abbott said he believes the officers that came to Anderson left Goodman due to a lack of support in the city.

“I think a lot of it was they didn’t feel like they had the support from the council to continue being police officers for Goodman,” Abbott said. “Our council is very supportive, and our community backs us up really well,” Abbott said, noting some of the officers also received a pay increase.

Adam Miller, the previous Goodman Police Chief, posted on his Facebook page on April 5 that he and several officers were leaving for many reasons.

“We at Goodman Police Department refuse to work for someone who doesn’t appreciate or support law enforcement and threatens our jobs,” Miller said in his post.

Miller also noted in his post he believed Mayor Bunch would dismantle the Goodman Police Department.

“John Bunch’s followers campaigned that he was going to dismantle the police department and threatened our law enforcement officers with comments like ‘your days are numbered,’ ‘enjoy it while it lasts,’ and ‘just wait for election results,’” Miller said in his post.

Abbott said that, before Bunch’s election, he had had a meeting with Goodman’s previous mayor, J.R. Fisher, on a partnership between the two agencies.

“I had set down with J.R. Fisher and proposed a contract between our two agencies so that I would help cover up there,” Abbott said. “Which he, [Fisher] was very interested in, then when John became mayor, he was not interested in doing that at all,” Abbott said.

Abbott said Goodman currently has support from the county and highway patrol if they need additional assistance in a situation in which they don’t have enough officers.

“I know that they have support from county and from highway patrol, and we would go up and assist too if we were requested to,” Abbott said. “But he [Bunch] just chose not to do a contract with us.”

Abbott said one agreement he previously had with Goodman was a mutual aid agreement, which could be made between himself and Goodman’s new Police Chief, Samuel Townsend.

Samuel Townsend, Goodman’s new Police Chief, said he intends to sign a mutual aid agreement between Goodman and the city of Anderson, stating the agreement benefits officers.

“When it comes to officer safety, the more is better,” Townsend said. “This reduces variables for things to go wrong and helps protect the public and the officer.”

Townsend added he has a strong relationship with other officers in the county and will work to maintain those relationships.

I have a great relationship with the Sheriff and Anderson Chief. I have fought shoulder-to-shoulder with almost every city officer and county officer. There is nothing I would not do to help them. Abbott and I have a good relationship and would do anything for each other.”

Townsend also said he and Mayor Bunch are a team, working together for the city of Goodman.