Officer Simon Ford is the Haines Borough Police Department’s acting sergeant as of this month, a temporary promotion that police chief Gary Lowe said would be the first of a few trial runs for that supervisory position.
“It’s going to be for a period of four months,” Lowe said of Ford’s sergeant tenure. “Just about everybody on the department is fairly equal in their amount of education, training and experience, so I want to give everyone an opportunity to see how they react in the supervisory role.”
Ford was sworn in as a Haines officer in June 2010, and previously worked as a grocery store butcher.
“He’s very empathetic,” Lowe said. “He really cares for people and he wants to see the right thing go on. He doesn’t have an attitude of superiority; he honestly cares and wants the right thing to happen.”
Officer Jason Joel was sergeant until the beginning of February, and officer Cassandra McEwen then took on some of the responsibilities of the supervisory sergeant position.
The police force currently includes Ford, John Havard, McEwen and Jason Rettinger serving under Lowe.
Lowe said as acting sergeant, Ford “will keep track of the other officers and will be reviewing reports, reviewing policies and procedures and making sure that everything is complied with.”
“He will be available as a consultant or a trainer for anything that (officers) would ask,” Lowe said. “If there are any questions about legalities or procedures, if I’m not available, then he should be there to fill in that capacity.”
Ford and his wife, Jennifer, have nine children, and the acting sergeant role will provide a boost in pay.
“As a temporary sergeant, by contract he will get a 10 percent increase while he’s in the capacity of an acting sergeant,” Lowe said.