Chief Dale Holton Retirement

The third Chief of Police that I have worked for is retiring.  Chief Dale Holton is saying good-bye to our department after 37 years of service to this community.  I applaud him for a job well done, and welcome our new leader, Chief Roger Ellis.  I have worked for Chief Ellis on many different assignments, and have full faith and confidence in him.  We are headed in the right direction.

Chief Holton's retirement takes me all the way back to my academy, 15+ years ago.  He was the Captain at the LPD Academy at the time, and I remember him being our very first instructor....U.S Constitution.  I recall very vividly his poise, stature, and professionalism as he taught....and I told myself that if he is emblematic of the type of leader at this department, I have begun my law enforcement career at the right place.

And I was right....

Over the years, I have worked for Chief Holton on many different levels.  And yet, the most vivid memory I will take with me as he retires is almost not job-related.  And it was the day he promoted to Chief.

3 years ago, we were experiencing his predecessor's retirement.  There was no job search, there was no equivocation....Dale was our next Chief.  At that same time, my wife and I had recently welcomed our beautiful daughter into the world.  Not too long after, I had to take extended medical leave....my wife had developed serious, surgery-requiring complications post birth.  The surgery went fine, but her reaction afterwards did not go well and we ended up in ICU for almost a week.  It was a very scary time for me, thinking I might actually lose my wife.  I stayed strong for the family, and God saw us through and healed my wife, through his miraculous touch and the skills he blessed our medical staff with.

After her hospital release, I was not quite emotionally ready to return to work, but I knew I needed to return to some sense of normalcy.  So, the wife home and recuperating with her mom helping out, the kids taken care of, back to work I went.  My first day back?  The day Chief Holton was being sworn in as our new Chief of Police.

Many of the officers at the department were going to City Hall to view the swearing in ceremony and attend a reception in his honor.  To be honest, I did not feel at all like going.....no offense to the new Chief, I just was in no mood for a social setting at that moment....my in-basket and email were overflowing with backed up items and I just wanted to bury my nose in work.  One of my good friends would not let me, and just about dragged me out the door.

The swearing in came off without a hitch, and the reception was mostly bearable.  Lots of high-up city officials, community muckity-mucks, wanna-be community muckity-mucks, and us regular joe's all clamoring for hors d'ouvres and punch, all while waiting to congratulate the new Chief.  I stayed back from the throng, had a few little smokies on toothpicks, and called my wife to check on her.  She was fine.  I needed to get back to the office, but since I had already made my presence known, I did not want to get off on the wrong foot and not shake the new Chief's hand.  So I stuck around for a bit more.

Finally, the reception began to thin just a bit, and I saw an opening to finally shake his hand and leave.  I walked up to him, hand extended, smile affixed.  He looked just as professional as the day I started the academy, and was all smiles at his big day.  As soon as he saw me approaching, things changed.

His smile immediately left, and he looked at me with concern.  He grabbed my extended hand with both of his, looked squarely into my face, and asked, "Jon, how is your wife doing?".  It was all I could do not to well up into an emotional ball.  Here he was, the new Chief of Police, on his big day of promotion to the most important law enforcement position of leadership at our department....and he was taking time out to ask about my recovering wife.  He had taken the time, at at 460+ member department, to learn of my family's predicament.

To this day, I still hope he did not see the tears developing in my eyes as I did my best to hold them in.  He has never let on if he did or not.

I relayed that she was home recovering, and followed up with a sincere thanks for thinking of us on his day.  He responded with a very direct statement that I was to call him directly if we needed anything.  I walked away and somehow held my emotions in check, and with a sense that I would go to bat for this man anytime.

This is the nature of this man....people first.  It made a lasting impression on me, and is something I will always remember when Chief Holton's name is mentioned.  For all of his law enforcement achievements, to me, this is his legacy for us.  Take care of your people, and they will work even harder for you.  I did.  Thank you, Chief Holton!  We are a better department because of you.