Sturgeon residents discuss hiring a police chief

Sturgeon is currently without a police chief, but not completely without police protection.

City officials say one officer is on duty and works 40 hours per week. That officer’s hours vary.

The Sturgeon Board of Aldermen voted 3-1 to remove Police Chief Greg Halderman on April 30. In May 2017, the city fired Halderman for the first time on allegations of alcohol abuse and inappropriate behavior, but a judge said the city did not follow procedure laid out in state law.

Many Sturgeon residents feel the city should have never fired Halderman in the first place. Now that the city does not have a police chief, many resident said the city should start discussing hiring a new one.

Danny Rice has lived in Sturgeon on and off for about five years. He said the city should hire a new chief because having one had many benefits.

“He was close and you didn’t have to wait for him,” he said.

Randy Beeman also said the city needed to hire a new chief.

He said having a police chief in town would result in a better response time in the case of emergencies.

Beeman said he is not sure if the city has the financial means to hire a new chief.

Other residents voiced the same concern, especially because the city is trying to appeal giving Halderman back pay for when he was fired in 2017. Other residents, however, said there is no need for the city to pay a police chief because of the low crime rate.

Sturgeon is yet to hire Halderman’s replacement. However, the Boone County Sheriff’s Department helps patrol the town.

Rice said the sheriff’s department does a good job patroling the area, but their resources and manpower are limited.

“They’re good at what they do, but they got a big territory to cover, and they don’t have enough people in the sheriff’s department to cover it all,” Rice said.

He said the city needs someone local.

“I’d say they need to have somebody in town that knows Sturgeon, knows the people of Sturgeon,” he said.

The city will hold a meeting at 6 p.m. May 28 where officials could discuss whether they plan to hire a new police chief.