‘A good time to go’: Garden City police chief announces retirement this summer
Garden City Police Chief Rick Allen announced plans to retire on Tuesday, after serving as chief in the small city for eight years.
Allen, 51, plans to retire on July 1, according to a public letter posted on the Police Department’s Twitter account.
Allen became a reserve police officer with Garden City in 1993 when he was 21, according to the letter. He became a full-time officer in 1994.
“Over the last 30 years, I have served in every division and held every rank within your police department,” Allen wrote. “This city and the citizens have been by my side for my college graduations ... my wedding, the births of my children, and every promotion along the way.”
The city’s mayor, John Evans, told the Idaho Statesman he has known Allen for about 25 years. Evans has served as mayor since 2006.
“He’s been wonderful for our department,” Evans said. “They’ll be a great deal of effort put in to getting as close to a Rick Allen as we can get with our next chief.”
Evans said his office plans to finish putting together a job posting this week, which will be open for about 30 days. The salary for the position will be around $150,000, he said.
Garden City mayor wants ‘orthodox policing’
Evans said he wants a new chief to have, an “Idaho mentality,” which he said means a commitment to community and “orthodox policing,” in addition to extensive command-level supervisory experience.
Evans said orthodox policing means officers should perform their duties by being nice and “responding on the basis of an individual’s conduct” and “not anything else.” He said some departments in the U.S. have made policy changes in recent years — like asking officers to stop policing certain crimes, or to not chase suspects on foot — that he doesn’t want to see in Garden City.
Chicago instituted a no-foot-chase policy in its department after two-foot pursuits resulted in police shooting and killing a 13-year-old boy and a 22-year-old man, according to National Public Radio.
Evans said that if communities want to change what’s policed, they should repeal the applicable law rather than asking an officer to stop doing “what they’ve sworn to do.”
Evans plans to set up an interview board with between three and six members, including himself and current or former law enforcement. He said the city may choose an interim chief — selected internally — before a permanent chief is chosen, depending on the timing of a new hire.
The mayor added that his two lieutenants and five sergeants can “run the day-to-day operation without a problem indefinitely.”
Allen: Garden City police are ‘in a real strong place’
In an interview with the Statesman, Allen said he hopes the department will focus on staff development and training going forward.
Allen noted that police departments around the country are struggling with a number of issues, including staff retention, and that some recent cases have “reflected negatively on law enforcement nationwide, and understandably so.”
“It’s important to keep training police officers and give our communities what they deserve,” Allen said. “It’s been 30 years, and I think it’s time for me to spend some time with my family ... It’s probably a good time to go. The agency’s in a real strong place.”
Garden City police have 26 sworn officers and one opening at the moment, Allen said. After his retirement, he said he plans to stay in the area and may pursue a career training first responders.
This story was originally published May 16, 2023 at 2:32 PM.
