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Letter to the editor

Many praise new police chief

An Indian Shores sergeant will head the town force.

By ANNE LINDBERG, Times Staff Writer
Published December 12, 2007

KENETH CITY - When police Chief Jim Ernst retired in September, town officials said they'd wait until January to look for a chief.

Instead, they've conducted a low-key search behind the scenes, and on Monday hired a replacement. The new chief, Douglas Pasley, will be introduced to the town during the council meeting at 7:30 tonight at the Community Hall, 4600 58th St. N.

Pasley, 65, is a sergeant at the Indian Shores Police Department, where he has worked for the past 15 years. Before that, he spent 26 years with the Tampa Police Department. When he left Tampa, Pasley was in charge of the department's aviation and marine patrols.

Pasley said Monday he heard about the Kenneth City job through a "mutual friend."

"I came over and talked to them," he said. Council member Al Carrier, who is in charge of the Kenneth City Police Department, said he talked to "different people" about the town's requirements.

"I was looking for someone with James Ernst's character and background," Carrier said. "We had a nice, long talk with him ... I informed the mayor this is the guy we ought to hire. She talked to him ... She said, 'Al, I agree.' "

On Monday, the town made an offer that Pasley accepted. He will begin work Jan. 2 and earn $60,000 a year. Ernst was making $76,546 when he retired.

"The guy's excellent," Carrier said. "He's got a fantastic background." Pasley, he said, has done just about everything in policing and will fit in well with the community.

Pasley's current chief, E.D. Williams, said the town made a good choice. Williams has known Pasley for 42 years. They first worked together at the Tampa Police Department and then at Indian Shores."He's absolutely the quintessence of employees," Williams said. "He's an outstanding person. I don't know of a disciplinary problem - ever. I'm going to miss him."

Pasley said he became interested in the Kenneth City job because the town's department has a good reputation. With a small town, he said, the important thing is to get to know residents. That's the essence of community policing, he said.

Pasley said it is too early to know if he will make any changes. He said he wants to get settled and have a chance to see how things run.

"If it's not broke, I'm sure not going to change it," Pasley said. "If there's a better way to do it, I'm sure going to do that."

Pasley was born in Scottsberg, Ind., and moved to the area in 1955. He is a graduate of Brewster Tech (now Tampa Tech), where he was trained as a machinist. After graduating, he became a paratrooper in the Army and was stationed at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. He joined the Tampa Police Department after his three-year stint with the Army.

He is married and has four children. He has two sons who work for the Tampa Police Department, one in homeland security, the other with the mounted patrol.

[Last modified December 11, 2007, 23:45:56]