Once the paperwork has been completed, Mountain View will have a new police chief.
Mayor Roger Gardner told White River Now this morning that Mountain View Police Chief B. J. Day called him last week and said he intended to resign.
Mayor Gardner said he and Day discussed the resignation, and he asked Day to put it in writing.
Gardner said he did not ask for Day’s resignation, and he did not take any pride in accepting it. The mayor said he and his family and Day have been friends for years, and Day had served as chief under him for over four years and for over seven years, altogether.
Gardner said it was his understanding that Day intends to remain in the community. He is still on the Mountain View Fire Department.
The mayor then confirmed the new chief of police will be George Bethel. Bethel has currently been serving as a Stone County sheriff’s deputy. Previously, Bethel was a Little Rock police officer for almost 37 years before his retirement from that department.
In last Tuesday’s Mountain View City Council meeting, the council accepted Chief Day’s resignation. Gardner says Bethel called him Wednesday morning and said he was interested in the job. The mayor said Bethel submitted an application, and his references were all very positive.
In a special meeting of the city council, the aldermen waved the application process for the chief’s job, and Bethel was then offered the position.
Mayor Gardener said he felt the city needed to act quickly since festival time was quickly coming, and the police department needed to be ready.
We hope to have more on Bethel at a later date.
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