Interim Geary Police Chief Begins Hiring Process After Several Officers Walk Off Force

The Geary Police Department started looking for new police officers after several officers walked off the job. Neighboring agencies stepped in to fill the gap.

“This is a vulnerable moment for the city – but it’s not the end of the world,” said interim Geary Police Chief JJ Stitt. 

On Thursday morning, Geary Police Chief Alicia Ford posted to her department's Facebook page that she and the other Geary Police Officers will no longer serve the Geary community. 

Ford said,

“I would encourage every one of the members of this great community to take the time to get to know your council members and to be as involved as possible in the city, especially attending the city council meetings."

“Your voices are stronger when you stand together as one, and you all have the ability to affect the change you want to see in your community. It has been my honor to serve Geary, and I will forever cherish the people of this community.” 

Stitt said he was prepared to take over once Ford made the announcement. 

“I was called by the mayor, they had a problem, that they heard rumors that their police department’s gonna walk out on them,” Stitt said. “I was kind of on standby if something happened, and low and behold, it did happen.” 

Stitt is a third-party law enforcement officer the city brought in to fill the Geary Police chief role until it can build back its police force. Stitt said small-town police departments face these risks. 

“It happens more often than not,” Stitt said. 

Stitt said four officers left the department on Thursday and two others left several weeks prior to Ford’s post. 

“As of right now we have two officers,” Stitt said. 

However, Stitt said the news attention toward this issue is a good sign. He said the word has spread to potential candidates for Geary’s empty squad cars. 

“The news coverage has been wonderful,” Stitt said. “I probably took fifteen phone calls alone today. We’ve already got interviews for tomorrow morning.” 

Stitt said he remains hopeful he can help turn the page on an unexpected chapter of Geary Police. 

“This is going to be a relatively fluid process,” Stitt said. “In times like this, they’re still being taken care of — not gonna miss a beat and it’s gonna turn out to be a good thing.” 

Stitt said the policy will need to be addressed between the city and the police department to improve relationships and prevent this from happening again. 

Stitt said this issue will not impact emergency services in Geary. The Blaine County and Canadian County Sheriff’s offices are helping answer calls.