Centerville leaders in no hurry to fill police chief post, mayor says

City leaders aren’t in any hurry to fill the police chief’s post, the mayor says.

“We’re just not in any big rush ... It’s going to be filled,” Mayor John Harley said. “We just don’t have any plans yet. We probably won’t do anything until the first of the year.”

The city has been without a police chief since the Sept. 20 resignation of Ronald Rodgers.

Centerville police Capt. Chuck Hadden, who heads the patrol division, is running the Police Department while the chief’s post is vacant, Harley said.

Councilman Randall Wright said there’s “no reason” for the delay in filling the post.

“We’re just not in a rush to do it,” said Wright, who has oversight of the Police Department as a councilman.

Other councilmen have oversight of other departments. For example, Councilman Cameron Andrews is over the Fire Department. Andrews declined comment on the police chief vacancy, referring comment to Wright.

Harley, Wright and Andrews declined comment about the specifics of Rodgers’ resignation. Councilmen Micheal Evans and Edward Armijo could not be reached for comment Friday.

“That’s history,” Wright said. “We’re dealing with it the way we can.”

Rodgers, who took the helm in March, served a little less than seven months. He replaced Ed Tucker, who served in newly-created position of director of police services after resigning his City Council post in July of last year.

Tucker resigned from the police post several weeks later, and council later dissolved that post and went back to a police chief position. Tucker replaced Sid Andrews who resigned in June of last year.

This story was originally published October 30, 2016 at 8:45 PM with the headline "Centerville leaders in no hurry to fill police chief post, mayor says."