Public Meets Final Four Police Chief Applicants
Jonathon Butts of Decatur, IL highlighted 29 years of experience with a focus on responsibility, credibility, and accountability, along with integrity and ethics.
By Hailey Brown
(Oskaloosa, Iowa) – With long-time Oskaloosa Police Chief Jake McGee set to retire at the end of this month, the search for a new police chief is winding down. In April, it was announced that the search had narrowed to ten individuals after receiving 70 applications. The applicant pool is now even more focused with the search cut down to four. The final four candidates for police chief are: Benjamin Boeke of Rockford, IL, Troy Boston of Oskaloosa, Jonathon Butts of Decatur, IL, and Gary McClun of Oskaloosa. Both Boston and McClun are familiar faces as they each currently serve with the Oskaloosa Police Department.
To better acquaint the community with potential police chief applicants, the public was invited to join the Oskaloosa City Council for a “meet and greet” with the final four competing to become the next Oskaloosa Chief of Police. The event was held last Friday, May 18 in the Musco Technology Center (MTC) on the William Penn University Oskaloosa campus. The event was informal as members of the community talked one-on-one with candidates and their spouses for about half an hour, until each candidate went to the podium to give a brief introduction.
During his introduction, Boeke said he had 21 years of experience and comes from a large department of about 300 in a town of 150,000 people. “[The size] gives us a lot of experience in how to manage and police,” he explained. Boeke also highlighted his attention to accountability, data, and planning, which he thought would be great assets to the Oskaloosa Police Department. “[Accountability] is the only way to ensure the public trust is kept,” he said.
Boston was the next to speak, citing 32 years of experience on all levels of the Oskaloosa Police Department since 1985, with a current attention to investigations. “I have been in charge of the department in the chief’s absences through the years,” he said. “I have worked high profile crimes that have happened in the community.” Boston emphasized that he would like to take that next step with his career as the Oskaloosa Police Chief.
Candidate Butts highlighted 29 years of experience with a focus on responsibility, credibility, and accountability, along with integrity and ethics. “The best police officers in the world have problems and when you encounter a problem in your office or your department, you have to deal with it fairly,” he stressed. Butts said he does not believe in treating everyone equally, but instead leans toward treating everybody “fairly” based upon the “decisions” they’ve made.
Current OPD Lieutenant and Oskaloosa native Gary McClun gave the final introduction of the evening. McClun said he began his career with the department in 1999 and now oversees the K-9 program, the William Penn internship program, scheduling, video camera systems, and much more. “I have my hands in a lot of different aspects of everyday patrol functions,” he said, explaining that he’d like to continue his current 19-year career with the OPD as police chief.
A final decision has yet to be announced but is anticipated soon as current chief McGee retires at the end of this month.
