tgmoore
10-04-2007, 11:33 AM
Newberry picks police chief
ASSISTANT CHIEF RONNIE J. BASTIN TO REPLACE BEATTY
By Steve Lannen
and Michelle Ku
SLANNEN@HERALD-LEADER.COM
MKU@HERALD-LEADER.COM
Related Content
RONNIE J. BASTIN
Age: 50
Title: Assistant chief of police, Lexington division of police. Takes over as chief in 2008.
Hometown: Hiseville
Education: Bachelor of science degree in agricultural economics, University of Kentucky; master's degree in criminal justice, Eastern Kentucky University.
Family: Wife, Sandra; daughter, Victoria, and son, James.
• He counts on his wife's support, and then some
• Barren County connection continues
The next Lexington police chief skipped class twice this week.
Assistant Chief Ronnie J. Bastin was supposed to be in command-decisions training in Western Kentucky this week. He missed Monday to interview with a police-chief search committee in Lexington. He missed yesterday's class to meet with the mayor. Hours later, he was introduced as Lexington's next chief.
Bastin will soon have plenty of examples to share in command class after he takes control of the nearly 600-officer Lexington division of police.
"This all happened pretty quickly. I found out this morning after meeting with the mayor," Bastin said after the announcement yesterday in the lobby of the downtown Government Center.
Current Chief Anthany Beatty announced in August he is retiring to take an assistant vice president's job at the University of Kentucky in January.
Bastin, 50, is the commander of the Lexington Police Bureau of Operations. The 23-year veteran of the force was one of three internal candidates for the job. The other two were Maj. Mike Bosse and Assistant Chief Kevin Sutton.
"I am confident that he will both maintain and enhance the fine traditions that have been established in our division of police, which has made it one of the best in the country. He has a proven track record of success. He has taken on some of the division's toughest challenges," Mayor Jim Newberry said.
Bastin's salary as chief has not yet been set, but the chief's pay range is from $85,386 to $136,135, according to a job description.
Members of the nine-member police chief search committee said they interviewed all three candidates Monday and forwarded a recommendation to Newberry. The mayor interviewed Bastin at 7 a.m. yesterday.
Bastin's appointment is subject to the Urban County Council's approval and will take effect Jan. 6, the mayor said.
Internal search
The search committee decided to conduct an internal search for a number of reasons, but the main reason was because "it's not like we're looking for someone to come in and fix a problem," chairman Tim Bennett said. "We've got a division that's held in high esteem."
Rather than going outside, the idea was to give a member of the management team that helped build the division an opportunity to lead it, Bennett said. "We could always expand the search if we needed to, but we didn't need to."
Of the 15 officers who were eligible to apply to be chief, one-third of them were women and minorities, Urban County Councilman Kevin Stinnett said. "We felt like that was a viable pool. It's not a department lagging behind others in diversity; it's ahead."
Early in the interview process, it was apparent Bastin was the front-runner, said committee member Sandy Canon.
"He was the one who had incredible examples of initiatives that he had started, nurtured, carried and even passed on to others," she said. "In fact, the other two candidates spoke of those several times. Each candidate brought up initiatives that Chief Bastin had been instrumental in developing."
Bastin was instrumental in the creation of a program to recruit minority officers, a Spanish-language immersion program in Morelia, Mexico, and the Community Law Enforcement and Response unit, in which officers are directly assigned to neighborhoods.
Also, he was the commander on duty the day Comair Flight 5191 crashed at Blue Grass Airport last year.
Bastin's command at the Flight 5191 scene and his initiatives made him stand out, Stinnett said.
Bastin has a clear and solid vision for the future of the department, including improving the department's customer service, Stinnett said.
Bastin's personnel file is filled with service awards and more than 40 complimentary letters from citizens and police leaders from other communities. The topics range from the Emergency Response Unit, or SWAT team, response to a bomb threat to participation in training symposiums. One letter is from former Vice Mayor Isabel Yates, praising Bastin and another officer for apprehending a man who made off with items from a Friends of McConnell Springs fund-raising auction at Keeneland without paying for them.
Bastin has traveled in Latin America on church missions and has supervised the immersion program for officers in Mexico. The fact that Bastin started a minority recruitment program is a sign that he wants to be inclusive, Councilman George Myers said.
"It's a great choice," Myers said. "His focus on hiring practices and his desire and understanding of community policing and getting an understanding of what the community wants and needs, I think, is a great thing. I think he'll take the bar that Chief Beatty set and continue to move forward with it."
Myers said he has always found Bastin to be "responsive, understanding and proactive."
'A very high level'
Fraternal Order of Police president Mike Sweeney, who also sat on the search committee, said his organization has a good working relationship with Beatty and looks forward to forging a good one with the next chief. Bastin has already represented city administration in collective bargaining. Discussion of a new three-year contract for officers and sergeants likely begins next month, Sweeney said.
Bastin used part of his remarks yesterday to heap praise on the outgoing chief.
"Chief Beatty has brought us to a very high level. It's certainly an honor to get the opportunity to try and fill his shoes," Bastin said.
He called Beatty a boss, mentor, teacher and friend, and urged the community to take the next 90 days to wish Beatty well as his retirement nears.
Beatty called Bastin "very capable" and said the assistant chief is already part of the division's decision-making and management team.
"Being chief is an overwhelming task most of the time," Beatty said. "But the division will be left in great hands."
ASSISTANT CHIEF RONNIE J. BASTIN TO REPLACE BEATTY
By Steve Lannen
and Michelle Ku
SLANNEN@HERALD-LEADER.COM
MKU@HERALD-LEADER.COM
Related Content
RONNIE J. BASTIN
Age: 50
Title: Assistant chief of police, Lexington division of police. Takes over as chief in 2008.
Hometown: Hiseville
Education: Bachelor of science degree in agricultural economics, University of Kentucky; master's degree in criminal justice, Eastern Kentucky University.
Family: Wife, Sandra; daughter, Victoria, and son, James.
• He counts on his wife's support, and then some
• Barren County connection continues
The next Lexington police chief skipped class twice this week.
Assistant Chief Ronnie J. Bastin was supposed to be in command-decisions training in Western Kentucky this week. He missed Monday to interview with a police-chief search committee in Lexington. He missed yesterday's class to meet with the mayor. Hours later, he was introduced as Lexington's next chief.
Bastin will soon have plenty of examples to share in command class after he takes control of the nearly 600-officer Lexington division of police.
"This all happened pretty quickly. I found out this morning after meeting with the mayor," Bastin said after the announcement yesterday in the lobby of the downtown Government Center.
Current Chief Anthany Beatty announced in August he is retiring to take an assistant vice president's job at the University of Kentucky in January.
Bastin, 50, is the commander of the Lexington Police Bureau of Operations. The 23-year veteran of the force was one of three internal candidates for the job. The other two were Maj. Mike Bosse and Assistant Chief Kevin Sutton.
"I am confident that he will both maintain and enhance the fine traditions that have been established in our division of police, which has made it one of the best in the country. He has a proven track record of success. He has taken on some of the division's toughest challenges," Mayor Jim Newberry said.
Bastin's salary as chief has not yet been set, but the chief's pay range is from $85,386 to $136,135, according to a job description.
Members of the nine-member police chief search committee said they interviewed all three candidates Monday and forwarded a recommendation to Newberry. The mayor interviewed Bastin at 7 a.m. yesterday.
Bastin's appointment is subject to the Urban County Council's approval and will take effect Jan. 6, the mayor said.
Internal search
The search committee decided to conduct an internal search for a number of reasons, but the main reason was because "it's not like we're looking for someone to come in and fix a problem," chairman Tim Bennett said. "We've got a division that's held in high esteem."
Rather than going outside, the idea was to give a member of the management team that helped build the division an opportunity to lead it, Bennett said. "We could always expand the search if we needed to, but we didn't need to."
Of the 15 officers who were eligible to apply to be chief, one-third of them were women and minorities, Urban County Councilman Kevin Stinnett said. "We felt like that was a viable pool. It's not a department lagging behind others in diversity; it's ahead."
Early in the interview process, it was apparent Bastin was the front-runner, said committee member Sandy Canon.
"He was the one who had incredible examples of initiatives that he had started, nurtured, carried and even passed on to others," she said. "In fact, the other two candidates spoke of those several times. Each candidate brought up initiatives that Chief Bastin had been instrumental in developing."
Bastin was instrumental in the creation of a program to recruit minority officers, a Spanish-language immersion program in Morelia, Mexico, and the Community Law Enforcement and Response unit, in which officers are directly assigned to neighborhoods.
Also, he was the commander on duty the day Comair Flight 5191 crashed at Blue Grass Airport last year.
Bastin's command at the Flight 5191 scene and his initiatives made him stand out, Stinnett said.
Bastin has a clear and solid vision for the future of the department, including improving the department's customer service, Stinnett said.
Bastin's personnel file is filled with service awards and more than 40 complimentary letters from citizens and police leaders from other communities. The topics range from the Emergency Response Unit, or SWAT team, response to a bomb threat to participation in training symposiums. One letter is from former Vice Mayor Isabel Yates, praising Bastin and another officer for apprehending a man who made off with items from a Friends of McConnell Springs fund-raising auction at Keeneland without paying for them.
Bastin has traveled in Latin America on church missions and has supervised the immersion program for officers in Mexico. The fact that Bastin started a minority recruitment program is a sign that he wants to be inclusive, Councilman George Myers said.
"It's a great choice," Myers said. "His focus on hiring practices and his desire and understanding of community policing and getting an understanding of what the community wants and needs, I think, is a great thing. I think he'll take the bar that Chief Beatty set and continue to move forward with it."
Myers said he has always found Bastin to be "responsive, understanding and proactive."
'A very high level'
Fraternal Order of Police president Mike Sweeney, who also sat on the search committee, said his organization has a good working relationship with Beatty and looks forward to forging a good one with the next chief. Bastin has already represented city administration in collective bargaining. Discussion of a new three-year contract for officers and sergeants likely begins next month, Sweeney said.
Bastin used part of his remarks yesterday to heap praise on the outgoing chief.
"Chief Beatty has brought us to a very high level. It's certainly an honor to get the opportunity to try and fill his shoes," Bastin said.
He called Beatty a boss, mentor, teacher and friend, and urged the community to take the next 90 days to wish Beatty well as his retirement nears.
Beatty called Bastin "very capable" and said the assistant chief is already part of the division's decision-making and management team.
"Being chief is an overwhelming task most of the time," Beatty said. "But the division will be left in great hands."