Mayor narrows field

“I have narrowed the group down to five,” Mayor Jackie Crabtree told Pea Ridge City Council members Monday night, referring to the 25 applications received for the police chief position.

Four of the five are currently serving on the Pea Ridge Police Department; the fifth lives in the Pea Ridge area. Selected and interviewed were: • James Belden • Brandon Davis • Clela Eggebrecht • Mike Marler • Ryan Walker “I have been conducting interviews and plan to make a decision by the end of the week,” Crabtree said. “I will let you know when I have made the decision.”

Belden, who lives in Pea Ridge, is a patrol sergeant with the Benton County Sheriff’s Office, a position he has held since 2014.

He has been employed with the BCSO since 2004. He previously worked in the Fulton, Mo., and Siloam Springs police departments. He was a military police officer from 19871990. Belden has a bachelor of science degree in organizational management from John Brown University.

Davis, patrol officer with the Pea Ridge Police Department, was an investigator and sergeant with the Benton County Sheriff’s Office, where he worked from 2009 until 2014. He has 14 years experience including working for Marion County and Carroll County sheriff’s departments. He has 28 credit hours from Southern Arkansas University and has completed additional work at North Arkansas College.

Eggebrecht is currently a patrol sergeant for the Pea Ridge Police Department. She began her career in emergency services working with Volunteer Ambulance Service (VAS) in Garfield, worked as a dispatcher for Benton County Central Communications. In 1997, she attended parttime II police training and began working for Gravette Police Department. She graduated from the Arkansas Law Enforcement Academy and worked for Centerton Police Department, Colorado Community parole Division, and has been with the Pea Ridge Police Department since 2010.

Marler is a patrol officer for the Pea Ridge Police Department where he has been employed since 2008. He is a certified K-9 handler and trainer. He was the chief of police of Sulphur Springs from 2003-2007.

Walker is lieutenant for the Pea Ridge Police Department and has served as interim chief since November. He began working for the Pea Ridge Police Department in 2006. He is a firefighter/emergency medical technician and a captain on the Pea Ridge Fire Department. He is certified as a law enforcement instructor and radar instructor. He has an associate degree in business administration from Southern Arkansas University Tech.