Chief applicants well researched
Five applicants for Pea Ridge Police Chief have been thoroughly investigated by Benton County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Thomas See at the request of Pea Ridge Mayor Jackie Crabtree, See said.
At the April City Council meeting, the mayor told city officials there was still much work to do on hiring the police chief saying it would be a “couple more weeks” before he receives the background checks on candidates from the Sheriff’s Office. “Then we’ll start doing interviews. We are trying to get that position filled. It’s been a long time coming,” Crabtree said. “Thanks for your patience.”
The finalists are Lynn Hahn and John Hicks, both current Pea Ridge police officers; Troy Hoover, retired assistant police chief from Hutchinson, Kan.; Christopher Kelley, Gravette police captain; and Kevin Trevathan, retired Arkansas State Trooper. The 22 applicants were whittled to five and letters were sent to the applicants who were not selected to the short list, Crabtree said.
See said the background checks include employment history and records and checking for any criminal activities in the backgrounds. He said he also conducts interviews with people who know the persons being investigated, including people who know them professionally and personally.
The investigations take about a week per person and he is scheduling the investigations as well as continuing his regular job duties as head of the Criminal Investigation Division of the BCSO.
“I hope to get them to him the early part of next week,” See said last week. “It’s a pretty thorough background … it does take a little bit of time.”
See said there are various kinds of background investigations and some may be as simple as getting a fingerprint return.
See, who has been with BCSO for 19 years, said he has attended several courses on background investigations. He said he was asked to perform these investigations by Sheriff Holloway after the mayor asked the sheriff for assistance. He said the Sheriff’s Office is not charging the city for the investigation.
Former Police Chief Ryan Walker resigned effective Dec. 1. The mayor advertised for applicants in February, received 22 applications and culled 17 of those. The five finalists were named the first of March by Crabtree.