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Council appoints David Ford as new Police Chief

Justin Addison, Editor/Publisher
Posted 11/18/20

Fayette Police Lt. David Ford was named Fayette’s newest City Marshal. The appointment came during the regular meeting of the Fayette Board of Aldermen on Tuesday, Nov. 17.

Mr. Ford will …

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Council appoints David Ford as new Police Chief

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Fayette Police Lt. David Ford was named Fayette’s newest City Marshal. The appointment came during the regular meeting of the Fayette Board of Aldermen on Tuesday, Nov. 17.

Mr. Ford will take over the duties as City Marshal, more commonly referred to as Chief of Police, on Jan. 1. Current Police Chief Jeff Oswald will be sworn on Dec. 31 as Howard County Sheriff after defeating incumbent Mike Neal in the Nov. 3 general election.

The appointment was made by Mayor Kevin Oeth, and the council voted unanimously to appoint Lt. Ford. Stephanie Ford, East Ward Alderwoman and wife of Mr. Ford, abstained from the discussion and vote during Tuesday’s meeting.

“I feel he is qualified, and I’ve spoken with some folks who also feel the same way,” Mayor Oeth told the city council on Tuesday.

Lt. has been with the Fayette Police Department since Dec. 2001. He will serve as City Marshal until the next municipal election on April 6, 2021. At that time he will have the opportunity to be elected by the voters to keep the position for one more year to finish out the remainder of Mr. Oswald’s original term. The position will again go before voters in April of 2022, when voters will choose the City Marshal for a full four-year term.

Mr. Ford told the council he does intend to run for the job in April. Filing for municipal and school board elections opens Dec. 15, 2020, and closes Jan. 19, 2021.

He told the council that he doesn’t foresee any major changes to the department under his leadership. But said that he would like to work on getting the department’s fleet up to date and hire more reserve officers to alleviate issues with overtime.

The council also gave unanimous approval to begin the process of hiring another police officer. Mr. Oswald’s election to Sheriff will leave the department with six officers instead of seven. Mr. Ford advocated to the council the need to begin the process now, so that a new officer may be hired by the first of the year. “That way we have him in place by the time Jeff (Oswald) leaves,” he said.

Fayette is one of the few municipalities that still elect a City Marshal. Most cities hire a Chief of Police. Nathan Nickolaus, attorney for the City of Fayette, explained to the council that Fayette could switch from a Marshal to a Chief of Police who would be hired by the city rather than elected by the people. The change would need to go before voters and if passed, would go into effect one year later.

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