Jackson picks new police chief

A cool demeanor, a professional attitude and qualifications to match.

For those reasons, Jackson police chief hiring committee members voted 6-0 to recommend that Lt. James Humphreys be promoted to police chief. The recommendation was followed by a 9-0 vote by Jackson's Board of Aldermen at a meeting Friday afternoon.

The decision concludes a sour chapter in Jackson's history and a six-month vacancy at the top of the police department.

It started with the resignation of Marvin Sides in October last year. The resignation came in the wake of an investigation into an allegation of sexual misconduct involving a female dispatcher. No criminal charges were filed against Sides, and the alleged victim requested the case be dismissed.

What followed was an intense search for a new police chief. The search started with 25 resumes. The process included detailed background checks of seven individuals, and that field was narrowed down to three candidates -- Humphreys; former Jackson patrolman and Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper Jeff Womack; and Lebanon, Ill., police chief Doug Liebert.

"They did spend a lot of time and effort," said Mayor Paul Sander, who appointed the hiring committee. "And at the end, I think it was crystal clear who the best candidate was."

Humphreys will begin his duties immediately, though a salary has not yet been determined.

Compassionate chief

As for Humphreys, panelists say he stood out above the others during the interviewing process.

"He interviewed very well," said Phil Penzel, an alderman who was on the hiring committee. "I felt from the interview that he truly had compassion for the citizens of this town. He's got the wonderful ability to put himself in other people's shoes, and he'll treat others the way he wants to be treated. He's going to be a good chief."

Longtime public servant Val Tuschhoff, another alderman on the hiring committee, said the task of hiring a chief was the most challenging she's faced on any committee. But she said the committee was thorough.

"We drilled the poor boy," she said. "Maybe even more than the other candidates because he was local."

Humphreys lives in a home just outside the city limits. He and his wife, Francine, have two daughters -- Nicole, 4, and Jessica, 2.

He was born and raised in Bethalto, Ill., just east of St. Louis, but he has relatives in Bollinger County. Humphreys said he wants to retire in Jackson.

He started his career as a deputy for the Bollinger County Sheriff's Department. The job started out as an internship and ended up being a full-time position. From there, his career hit the ground running. In 1994, he was hired by the Jackson department as a patrolman and by 1996, he was promoted to sergeant of the patrol division. In 1998, he was promoted again, this time to lieutenant of investigations.

Perhaps his most impressive qualification was his graduation from the FBI National Academy in 2001. He was the first Jackson officer to have been accepted into the academy, a 12-week program that included 260 officers from all over the world.

"You've got to have it up here just to get in," Penzel said, pointing to his head. "To graduate is something special. That carried a lot of weight with me."

Humphreys said his biggest priority for the department is more community involvement. He said the department has gotten away from that in the last several years.

"I think there needs to be more interaction with the officers and the public," he said. "We need to be getting into the neighborhoods more and become problem-solving servants."

Humphreys said the morale has been somewhat down as the department has been in limbo.

"Any time you have no leader, it's natural for the guys in the department to feel detached," he said. "But I want this to be a department where people want to come to. Most importantly, the community deserves the best."

bmiller@semissourian.com

243-6635

JAMES HUMPHREYS

Age: 34

Education: Will graduate with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Southeast Missouri State University in May.

Training: Graduated from the FBI National Academy in 2001.

Experience: Bollinger County sheriff deputy 1991-1994; Jackson patrol officer 1994-1996; Sgt. of patrol division 1996-1998; lieutenant of investigations 1998-present.