Rusk: The thin blue line gets thinner

by Jo Anne Embleton news@thecherokeean.com

RUSK – The March 17 departure of its two newest police officers has local officials stepping up efforts to fill positions on the Rusk police force.

The department is now at seven officers, including Police Chief Scott Heagney.

“It’s certainly going to make things difficult, but we have been at lower numbers before and we have survived – we will survive this,” said Heagney. “It’s going to put stress on folks, but service will not be affected. The community will still be safe.”

This recent loss “makes the outreach with the community that much more difficult, but then two years ago, we were down to four officers, and we survived,” he added.

The two patrol officers have been with RPD since last November, and were about half-way through a one-year probationary period, said City Manager Amanda Hill.

Heagney confirmed the officers as Tony Smith and Jackquan Jones. Smith was highly visible in Rusk, serving as the department’s community liaison.

The chief described their departure as a “routine personnel matter,” noting that both men have sought employment elsewhere.

“It’s the same thing RPD has experienced for several years,” he said. “When you have 30 employees come and go – and police chiefs – there’s a whole lot of reasons for it. Some of it is (for) benefits, some to improve their family life, some are going to another place (for experience). But you always hate to see them go.”

Like a number of other police departments across the country, Rusk PD has been advertising for the hire of officers to help fill empty positions on its staff.

A 2023 schedule shared on its Facebook page outlines the range of salaries for both officer and sergeant positions, ranging from a Step 1 base of $51,443 (officer) and $61,123 (sergeant) to Step 6 salaries of $58,203 (officer) and $69,155 (sergeant). This does not include various add-on incentives that go up to $1,800 annually for shift differential or city residence pay.

The department also lists among benefits the use of take-home vehicles, extra duty options, facial hair and allowance of non-offensive tattoos, 14 paid holidays, 80 hours of paid annual vacation, longevity pay, and a work cellphone.

Rusk Police Department also offers an unpaid internship for those interested in law enforcement, open to undergraduate and graduate students, which can be claimed for college credit.

Interns will participate in a ride-along program and amass observation hours within each of the department’s divisions, while helping with a variety of projects and tasks, according to information from the department.

Meanwhile, the department is sponsoring a member who will complete police academy in April, with “a couple of individuals” going into the academy in June, Heagney said.