The Hurst City Council unanimously confirmed a new police chief at their Dec. 9 meeting.
Assistant Police Chief Billy Keadle, who had succeeded previous chief Steve Niekamp on an interim basis, was officially promoted to the top role.
Niekamp served as police chief from 2018 until his unexpected death in September due to health complications at 56 years old. He joined the department in 1990.
Keadle has been a member of the Hurst Police Department since 2001. He was promoted to assistant police chief in 2018.
A press release notes that members of the public can connect with Chief Keadle at the city's annual Town Hall Forum in February.
“Over the past few months, the character of this department has been revealed in powerful ways. You've shown professionalism, dedication, resilience,” Keadle said after receiving the police chief badge.
“I am humbled, grateful and ready to get to work,” he said.
Keadle later told KERA that after three decades in the field, he adjusts his leadership style based on the situation.
“There's a time and a place for the different styles,” he said. “I'm open to new ideas. I want to explore them.”
Keadle said he plans to continue filling vacancies in the department, pointing out pay and benefits to potential recruits. The department has six people scheduled for the academy in January.
“We’re reaching out to colleges, we've been to job fairs, we're advertising on social media, and we are encouraging our people to share with their friends or family and get the word out that we have openings, that we need good people,” he said.
At the council meeting, City Manager Clay Caruthers told a full house of first responders, city officials and residents that of the five candidates interviewed for the role, he feels “very, very confident” in Keadle’s understanding of the city’s vision.
Caruthers said Keadle has expressed that “while we won't continue to just do things the way we always have, he is going to look for ways that we can continue to go from good to great.”
Caruthers added that the department has “the right culture to move us into the future.”
The Hurst Police Department has 73 sworn officers. It was founded in the 1950s when the city was incorporated.
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