Clarksville interim police chief rebuilding force

The Paris News
By David Money
December 28, 2023

Clarksville’s interim police chief is getting the city’s police force back in working order. He told the City Council of what he has been doing to get the department up and running during the December regular meeting in City Hall.

The city has all its law-enforcement equipment back, interim chief Tommy Hunt told the council. Agents from the Criminal Justice Information Services division of the Texas Department of Public Safety removed electronic devices in April after the city fired police officers leaving the city without a police force.

“So, they’re all functional now, up and running. We made sure that all the computers were cleared of all the passwords or password users that had access to them in the past, he said.

He told of a hire he wants to make. It is an officer he worked with when he was the chief of police in Naples, Texas.

“She was my sergeant when I was down there,” he said.

He noted he still has paperwork to complete before she can start.

“Whenever that does happen, I’ll be happy to bring her in here and introduce her to y’all. She’s a super, good person. Easy going and leveled headed,” he said.

Former city officer Chris Hogg is still excited about helping out, he said, adding that one future part-time officer has already picked up his city uniform and another is working on his paperwork.

He is also working to make the department more presentable to visitors, he said.

“I’m trying to give the office back here a facelift,” he said. “The chief’s office was in the back. It’s not where it needs to be at least in my opinion. So in these front two rooms here, we’re remodeling those. I’m getting them together so we’ll have a place for citizens that want to come in and talk,” he said. “They’ve got a place to sit and talk and I have an office upfront where people should feel more welcome.”

Additionally, he is having an integrated communication system set up through Axon Enterprises. The system that will link body cameras, vehicle cameras and laptops was paid in part through an eGrant from the state, The grant covers $11,000 of the $37,000 cost and the city will pay $6,487.17 for four years.

“It’s just a great system,” he told the council.

When the police force is up to speed the new system will help the officers work more efficiently and be a cost-saver down the road.

“It’s really going to make it really super nice for our officers to work and be on the streets since it is also integrated into our laptops.”

He said eventually his officers will be working with laptops solely.

“All the desktop computers will go away. They won’t need them. And if you have a laptop that goes down, it’s half the cost. A new one is half the cost of the desktop,” he said.

His talk about progress pleased council members and the mayor.

“The council and I have been pleased with the job performance of Chief Hunt. He has definitely hit the ground running. He is very professional and respectful and works well with the public. He works well with county law enforcement which is very important. He’s a worker, he cares about the community and how one views this community. He’s doing his job,” Mayor Ann Rushing said. “We look forward to his building back up the department.”