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Heun named Chief of Dyersburg Police Department

Saturday, June 13, 2009

On Friday, June 12, Dyersburg Mayor John Holden announced the appointment of Arthur "Art" Heun as the new Chief of Police for the Dyersburg Police Department.

Scheduled to begin his service with the DPD in July, Heun is currently the Chief of Police for the Olive Branch, Miss. Police Department, where he has served for approximately six years.

He is also the former Chief of Police for the Pulaski, Tenn. Police Department, serving there for four years. While at the PPD, he was awarded the 2002 Middle Tennessee Chief of the Year by the Tennessee Association of Chiefs of Police.

Prior to that, Heun served 27 years in the Shelby County Sheriff's Office. While there, he established a performance record of managerial, personal and professional growth in earning significant leadership positions, serving in critical high visibility roles including Executive Officer of the Narcotics Division, Commander of the Property Crimes Detective Division, Commander of Metro DUI and Sheriff's Traffic Division and Executive Officer of the Internal Affairs Bureau. He also served as a Hostage Negotiator and Commander of the Negotiating Unit for 16 years.

Chief Heun has served as Chairman of the Legislative Committee for the Tennessee Association of Chiefs of Police and is the current President Elect of the Mississippi Association of Chiefs of Police.

Heun has also participated in over 650 hours of specialized training seminars and programs including FBI Executive Development, Counseling Strategies for Crisis Intervention, FBI Hostage Negotiating School, US Secret Service, Advanced Accident investigation, Gang Investigation and FBI Quantico.

The appointment was made after a three-month selection process, beginning on Feb. 19, which included the assistance and recommendations from the Tennessee Association of Chiefs of Police, located in Nashville. The position was advertised with the local State Gazette as well as the Tennessee Association of Chiefs of Police.

City of Dyersburg officials report that 31 resumes were received for the position. The resumes were reviewed by the City Human Resource Department as well as the Tennessee Association of Chiefs of Police, reducing the number of applicants to 18. These 18 applicants submitted additional information for consideration, which reduced the pool to 13 applicants.

Telephone interviews were conducted with the remaining 13 applicants April 20 through 29. These interviews were conducted by Chief of Police of the Oak Ridge, Tenn. Police Department David Beams, Chief of Police of the Brownsville, Tenn. Police Department Gil Kendrick, and City of Dyersburg Human Resources Director Sue Teague.

From these interviews, nine final applicants were selected for face-to-face interviews conducted over a period of two days, culminating on Friday with the appointment of Chief Heun.

"I appreciate the hard work of Sue Teague, the assistance of the Tennessee Association of Chiefs of Police, Chief Beams and Chief Kendrick," said Holden. "I also appreciate the men and women of the Dyersburg Police Department for their patience and understanding as this process was conducted."

Comments

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It seems that the mayor took the selection of a new chief of police quite seriously. Best wishes to Chief Heun and the DPD.

-- Posted by SillyRickey on Fri, Jun 12, 2009, at 12:45 PM

so far so good, give him a chance first.

-- Posted by jscott on Fri, Jun 12, 2009, at 1:26 PM

It appears that a professional has been hired to restore the respect and dignity of the police department. I hope that our aldermen support this appointment. It is time to move forward.

-- Posted by ukwildcats on Fri, Jun 12, 2009, at 2:26 PM

well, he's certainly qualified... ain't he?

-- Posted by jeramy on Fri, Jun 12, 2009, at 3:37 PM

The choice sounds good....Just hope he don't get caught up by the politics of dyersburg...if he has to stand alone for right, then so be it...

-- Posted by DMASE on Fri, Jun 12, 2009, at 4:23 PM

Lets pray he can help this city. He does seem to be qualified. My hat is off to Mayor Holden. He really took this seriously!!

-- Posted by citizenofdyersburg on Fri, Jun 12, 2009, at 5:31 PM

Let's hope he brings more than just "Hope & Change"...

-- Posted by terminator on Fri, Jun 12, 2009, at 5:50 PM

Sounds like a good choice. Hopefully he will make some much needed changes.

-- Posted by tellitlikeitis on Fri, Jun 12, 2009, at 6:17 PM

Lets just hope that the judges will help him and his officers keep the REAL badguys off the streets

-- Posted by Family Man on Fri, Jun 12, 2009, at 7:13 PM

i think this is a bad choice by our mayor and alderman because this man is from MEMPHIS and look at memphis drugs and criminal history, there is not a single day goes by that we do not here on the news about the killings and drugs in memphis.I know he is just one man, but we do have people in our police department that is very capable of doing this job and deserves this chance to make a difference in our city. I am not saying that i do not like this man(i dont know him) but i think it is unfair and unjustice to the men and women of our P.D. and city.

-- Posted by dyersburgjc on Fri, Jun 12, 2009, at 9:55 PM

i think it's great that he's from memphis and has all those years of experience dealing with the worst things that could possibly happen. we get our share of drugs and killings here too... its not an everyday thing, but we don't have 700,000 people living here either

-- Posted by jeramy on Fri, Jun 12, 2009, at 10:55 PM

I wish the man well, I believe his experience in larger cities, will be an asset to both himself, and the city of Dyersburg. Dyersburg is having growing pains, and still has the home town feel for everyone who has lived there their entire lives, because it has come on slowly , sneeking up on everyone , including the city government. All aspects of Dyersburg has changed, and a Metro minded Police Chief is needed, Mr. Heun has that mindset coming into this situation, so he won't be surprised or blindsided by those elements of Dyersburg, and Dyer County prone to "bullying" those who are supposed to be in the seats of athority. With his experience, "He" will be prepared for them...

-- Posted by Susie Mosley on Fri, Jun 12, 2009, at 11:51 PM

I'm impressed with Chief Heun's resume. Now let's make the job easy for him with strong Neighborhood Watch programs. With a weak economy, the temptation and need to resort to crime will be increasingly problematical. Our community must find ways to make certain no person and no family is "left behind" because of financial difficulties. Otherwise, we won't be able to hire enough enforcement personnel to keep crime under control.

-- Posted by A Citizen on Sat, Jun 13, 2009, at 5:42 AM

Thanks, Mayor for not using the good ole boy system.

-- Posted by earsblue on Sat, Jun 13, 2009, at 9:32 AM

THank the lord he is from somewhere else then maybe he can see where Dyersburg problems lie. The old was not working. Bring on the new.

-- Posted by Panhead57 on Sat, Jun 13, 2009, at 9:54 AM

Though I am disappointed because I had another candidate in mind, I am just glad they didn't keep Dudley as Chief. I can see where dyersburgjc is coming from it is a bit demoralizing to the Dyersburg officers that were well qualified for the position not to be appointed.

-- Posted by Officer'sdaughter on Sat, Jun 13, 2009, at 10:44 AM

It`s about time we have someone who will go for the drug dealers and maybe won`t be too complacent. Get everyone off their butts and cellphones and get busy enforcing the law.

-- Posted by riverman on Sat, Jun 13, 2009, at 5:10 PM

Welcome! Chief Heun, you sound like your ready for Dyersburg. I wish you the best and hope you like it hear. Mayor Holden my hat is off to you for the choice you have made with Chief Heun. Also to DPD for all your good work.

-- Posted by different/visons/12 on Sat, Jun 13, 2009, at 5:18 PM

It is a good thing to bring someone from outside Dyersburg in so he can break up the cliques in the Department and smooth things out. The only way he can do this is with support of the mayor and aldermen. These "Good ole boys" can back out from under this guy because they aren't connected to him, make him a scapegoat, then send him down the road in two to four years. But in turn it makes one curious why this so "qualified" man is interested in our little town? Sounds like he bounced around alot, ever wonder why? If he is so good, Why is he coming here instead of staying put and retire? It still smells funny to me either way.

-- Posted by 1* on Sun, Jun 14, 2009, at 9:05 PM

Congratulations Dyersburg you were the highest bidder. Why do you think Mr. Heun cares about the streets of Dyersburg? He doesn't live here and never has. He is in arms length of retirement and is looking for our taxpayers' money. He'll stay a couple of years at most as long as some other city doesn't offer him more money. Guess that explains why he has moved around so much huh? Don't expect the "good ole boy" system to go anywhere he is quite comfortable with it.

-- Posted by Officer'sdaughter on Mon, Jun 15, 2009, at 5:20 PM

I don't think 3 departments in 37 years is "moving around a lot". So what if he stays just 6 years? That means 6 good years of a proven leader who has turned around two departments in Pulaski and Olive Branch. My contacts in those two towns tell me that Dyersburg is getting a highly respected chief.

His reputation speeks for itself.

-- Posted by ukwildcats on Mon, Jun 15, 2009, at 9:52 PM

I notice that there is no mention of his educational background. I wonder why?

-- Posted by Officer'sdaughter on Tue, Jun 16, 2009, at 7:36 AM

Apparently his education background was sufficient.

Reading the article, it appears that he has taken advantage of any and all specialized training seminars and programs to help advance his career. To me, and this is just my opinion, he did not rely on the "good ole boy" system for career advancement. He decided to take advantage of the opportunities that were put in front of him. When an organization offers extra training and programs to help enhance your career, you should take it. Who knows, you could be the "one" that beats out thirty other applicants.

-- Posted by hey_just_my_opinion on Tue, Jun 16, 2009, at 11:50 AM

FYI all officers are mandated to complete 40 hours of training a year.

-- Posted by Officer'sdaughter on Tue, Jun 16, 2009, at 5:31 PM

Below is a link to an editorial about our new Chief.

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/200...

Pay particular attention to the last few sentences.

Dyersburg is fortunate to be getting a well qualified chief; one who is respected by the community.

Enough said. The proof is in the pudding.

-- Posted by ukwildcats on Tue, Jun 16, 2009, at 8:27 PM

I am glad they didn't promote from within, that is bad for everyone involved. In the military once you are promoted to a certian rank they move you because it is hard to get the respect from someone you have worked with side by side for years. To all of those that have a problem with the new chief, how bout giving him a chance before you dislike him, or is it that he is not part of your "click"?

-- Posted by iseestupidpeople on Tue, Jun 16, 2009, at 8:30 PM

He moved from several departments after he recieved all that training? He didnt wanna be there to implement what he learned? And when I said he moved around, yeah three departments, but every unit in both. Either he isn't good enough at any one job to stay at it, or he is just that building a resume so he can coast into a small town chiefs job so he can retire at our expense. There are guys at dyersburg who can match those credentials, Joyner, Williams, Essary to name a few. Anyone in law enforcement knows building a resume of schools is easy. The kicker is, it's at tax payers expense. It is what it is, If he is good why isn't he a chief in Memphis, Nashville even Jackson. Like I said he spent his time building a resume.

-- Posted by 1* on Tue, Jun 16, 2009, at 9:38 PM

1* , Why don't you call and ask him ?

-- Posted by softballplayer on Tue, Jun 16, 2009, at 11:17 PM

Sure the writer's opinion is that we will be well served, and hopefully that will be the case. But I can't help to notice what he said. He said he was moving to a smaller city with fewer officers, but more pay. What is his motivation? Money? Our city? I hope it all works out.

-- Posted by Officer'sdaughter on Wed, Jun 17, 2009, at 1:43 PM

ONLY TIME WILL TELL, Goodday officedaughter

-- Posted by dyersburgjc on Fri, Jun 19, 2009, at 9:00 AM