by Wesley Harris
Newly appointed Chief Eric Watson is full of ideas for a new Ruston Police Department if a press conference is any indication of what’s ahead.
Ruston Mayor Ronny Walker and Watson met with the news media Wednesday afternoon with a number of RPD staff, other city employees, and several council members also in attendance.
With a unanimous vote, the Ruston City Council approved Watson’s appointment as chief Monday evening to replace the retiring Steve Rogers who served in the position for 17 years.
The new chief worked as a Ruston patrol officer from 1993 to 1998 before accepting a job with the U. S. Drug Enforcement Administration. In a career spanning over 25 years, Watson worked on drug trafficking cases on a local, national, and international level as well as holding managerial positions.
Watson said after he retired from the DEA, he was pursuing some other interests. When he heard Chief Rogers was retiring, he had some interest in the position, and others told him to consider it. Watson said he loved Ruston and had been interested in moving back to the Ruston area.
“After some soul searching, I decided to pursue the position,” he said.
Walker said he was impressed by the quality of the candidates for the position.
“We had nine really good candidates,” Walker said. “Learned a lot through that interview process and I really appreciate those who applied.”
The mayor said the ideas Watson shared in his interview convinced him to recommend the former Ruston officer to the City Council.
Walker said Watson will officially start as chief today when the necessary paperwork is completed. A formal swearing-in ceremony will occur at City Hall at 4:30 p.m. Friday.
Watson shared some of his ideas for the department but tried to stick to generalities since he has not had the opportunity to discuss them with his RPD staff.
Watson is particularly interested in new recruiting and retention strategies to bring in new officers and keep them.
“The department literally has about the same number [as when I left in 1998],” Watson said, noting major increases in population, infrastructure, and businesses mean the department is woefully understaffed.
“That’s got to change,” he said.
Watson briefly discussed creating a recruitment plan where RPD, the Lincoln Parish Sheriff’s Office, and Louisiana Tech Police work together to recruit candidates to the area.
“If we recruit to live and work in public safety in our area, we all benefit,” he said.
Watson said officers have left the police department for various reasons in the past and he will work on a “change in morale” to keep employees. He mentioned “collateral duties,” the strategy of giving employees a special responsibility in addition to their regular duties to instill empowerment, and foster motivation and a sense of personal growth.
The strategy might “breathe some life” into officers who may feel burned out and have the need for more responsibility to stay motivated.
Watson said only one employee remains from his first stint at RPD in Laura Kent, who will continue to serve as secretary to the police chief was a dispatcher when Watson was a RPD patrol officer.
In response to a question about his biggest challenge, Watson said “getting people to buy in” to his changes.
“We’ve got to have a positive attitude in that police department,” he said. “Not that it isn’t there now, but I intend to build on what’s there now. Each one of the officers has to buy in on what I want to do.”
The new chief said some attitudes may have to change, such as buying in to a working relationship with the community.
“Police officers are not always engaged with the community the way they should be and that’s going to have to change,” he said.
For example, he favors the creation of a senior citizens academy, where seniors who have time to be involved in community affairs will have an opportunity to interact with officers and learn about the department and support it.
Watson said he wants to communicate with the public, including working closely with the city’s social media specialist to address all sorts of issues with the public.
“We need to build relationships before something bad happens,” Watson said.
He said he wants to be able to go to community members he has developed a relationship with to work through difficult times.
Watson hopes to enhance the traditional role of a public information officer, who will not only communicate with the news media, but will be trying to assist in critical incidents and work with traumatized families.
Watson acknowledged the need to take advantage of the many training opportunities for police officers in the region, most of which only require travel expenses.
“The department has not always participated in the free training that’s available,” Watson said.
