'Desire to serve' led Staples into law enforcement - messenger-inquirer

Rather, Staples said the choice was difficult because he loved everything he had been able to do at the department up to then, such as working in patrol and being a police detective.

“For me, it was really difficult to think about moving on,” said Staples in an interview earlier this week.

When Staples was promoted to sergeant, he said he knew he would seek other leadership roles in the department as well.

“I love leadership,” Staples said. “I enjoy the process and learning how to lead better and solve problems.”

Staples was recently promoted to major by the Owensboro City Commission, putting him into the department’s command staff with Chief Art Ealum and Deputy Chief JD Winkler.

Staples, who was previously supervisor for the criminal investigations division, a patrol supervisor and the department’s professional standards officer, will lead OPD’s support services division.

Support services is responsible for officer training, for managing the evidence collection unit and records office, and for overseeing reaccreditation from the Kentucky Association of Chiefs of Police. Being accredited means a department has demonstrated it is meeting law enforcement best practices.

Staples said he was a “military brat,” which involved the family moving around while his father was in the Marines. The family eventually settled in Ohio County, where they had some ties. Staples joined the Army, where he served in both the infantry and in airborne unit.

After military service, law enforcement seemed like a natural career choice.

Staples spoke with a friend who was a police officer in Clarksville, which helped him decide.

“It was right in line with my desire to serve a community,” he said.

Staples joined OPD in 2002 and worked patrol for several years before becoming an investigator.

“I loved patrol. Patrol was a blast,” he said. “Working with and supervising those (officers) is something I’ll miss.”

When Staples was promoted to lieutenant, he became supervisor for criminal investigations. It was busy in the unit, as detectives worked together on several high-profile cases, he said.

The time leading the detective division was something Staples says he’ll look back on as “the best times of my life.”

“I enjoyed my time leading patrol, but there was an ability in CID to form a relationship as a team,” he said.

Law enforcement agencies across the state and country are dealing with officer shortages, as the number of applications decline and agencies compete with the private sector to keep officers.

“Certainly, staffing is our biggest challenge,” Staples said. “It’s hard to focus on other (issues) when staffing is an issue.

“(Officers) get tired, but we still have to have people on the street,” Staples said. The department has new officers coming out of field training who will be ready to join the force on their own, Staples said.

The morale among officers at the department is good.

“It seems pretty optimistic,” Staples said. “Morale I feel is quite good, and that speaks to the leadership. It takes a lot to build a team and family atmosphere, where people enjoy coming to work.”

Staples said a focus will be on making OPD a place where officers turn down jobs from the private sector.

When asked what brings him to work every day, Staples said, “the people.”

“I like that atmosphere, and I want to do what I can to build that atmosphere,” Staples said. “That’s why most people continue to do what they do. Owensboro is a special place.”

source: https://www.messenger-inquirer.com/news/desire-to-serve-led-staples-into-law-enforcement/article_c9f693cb-44df-540f-ae98-38e858a550a5.html

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