New chief says team is his goal
Clark Morrow to lead police department
By Joey Berlin
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Technically speaking, Clark Morrow will take control of the Emporia Police Department as its new chief on Dec. 17.
But Morrow doesn’t like to think of it as “taking control” of the department. That’s not his style.
“Certainly a chief provides leadership,” Morrow said after being hired on Tuesday. “But you work with people. You really don’t control people or a department. It really is a team effort all the way. That’s something I’ve learned throughout my career.”
It’s a career that has included just about every police department job except chief. Now, after nearly 19 years with the Olathe Police Department, Morrow gets his shot to do that, too.
The city manager chose Morrow to replace Mike Heffron, who retired in December 2006. Morrow has spent the last four years as a captain and is currently in charge of Olathe’s patrol division, commanding about 105 employees.
“The other thing that we really liked about him, besides his background and his education,” City Manager Matt Zimmerman said, “is he’s held all of the positions in a police department, from dispatcher to patrol officer to detective to sergeant to lieutenant to captain.
“He’s been in the investigations division, he’s been in the administration division, he’s been in the patrol division. So clearly, he has a wide range of experience. I think that’s something that’ll be very valuable for our police department.”
Morrow agreed that his broad experience is key.
“In a lot of cases, there’s just no substitute for having done certain things,” he said. “And I think on the operational end of policing, that’s very much true. If you haven’t been a police officer, haven’t been a detective, you may not understand it as well.
“But experience only goes so far. Something I’ll tell the employees of the police department when I get down there is that the police chief is only as good as the people here at the department, and any success I have will really be dependent on them.”
As such, before discussing publicly which specific issues he plans to make his top priority, Morrow wants first to discuss those issues with the people who will serve under him. He said he plans to meet individually with everyone in the department and conduct internal surveys. Hearing the community’s thoughts will be paramount, too.
“The way I look at it coming in is, nobody knows a police department better than the men and women that are there now,” he said. “I want to gather their thoughts when I get down there.
“But on the community side, nobody knows the community better than the people who live there. So I’ll also be gathering their thoughts on what their needs are, and what their expectations are of the police department.”
Zimmerman said that kind of personable nature was another factor in choosing Morrow.
“I think that’s something that’s very important in this community,” Zimmerman said. “(There’s) very much a need for the chief to be out in the community interacting with the citizens and the organizations.
“And quite frankly, the fact that he is a bona fide Kansas officer was maybe a little bit of a tipping point as well.”
Morrow was born in Kentucky and spent his early childhood in the Deep South, moving from place to place.
“I was an Army kid,” Morrow said. “When I was 9, we moved to Fort Riley. So I lived in Fort Riley for a few years and then went to Junction City and went to junior high and high school there.”
Morrow attended Kansas State University for three years. His start in police work came as a dispatcher in Fairview Heights, Ill., a suburb in the St. Louis area, from 1987 to 1989. While working there, he attended Belleville Area College in Belleville, Ill., earning an associate degree in administration of justice. He later attended Western Illinois University, where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies.
In January 1989, Morrow joined the Olathe Police Department as a patrol officer. While working, he pursued a master’s degree in criminal justice at Washburn University in Topeka, earning it in 1995.
Earlier that same year, he became a detective in the investigations division. He continued earning promotions — to sergeant, lieutenant and, finally, to captain in June 2003.
Morrow and his wife, Andrea, have two daughters, Emma, 17, and Mairen, 10.
Before Morrow’s first interview with Zimmerman, he had visited Emporia State University for a college visit for Emma. He said his family was treated wonderfully, and the university made an impression on them as well. Emporia seemed like a great place to live.
“On the professional side,” he said, “I did some checking around when I found the job was open. Certainly, what I learned is that this is a very good police department. When you’re looking at something as a potential chief, that’s what you want to hear.”
Becoming a chief of police is a dream come true for Morrow, a goal that’s always been in the back of his mind.
“Really, since I started in this business about 20 years ago, it was always kind of a long-term goal,” he said. “The last couple of years, I’ve looked around and really have not widely pursued jobs.
“But Emporia looked like a very unique position.”
justthinkin (anonymous) says...
Welcome to you and your family & best wishes for success in your new positon.
November 21, 2007 at 4:10 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )