Two new officers join Marion Police Department
The opportunity to work with a proactive police department in a small, but strong, community was the drawing card for two new employees of the Marion Police Department.
Phillip Hartfield, a 20-year law enforcement veteran, and Josh Whitwell, a 22-year-old rookie, both joined the department within the past couple months.
Hartfield came to Marion from Aurora, Colo., and began work Dec. 11. Whitwell, a Marion native, started work with the department Jan. 7.
The addition of the two new officers, whose positions were funded with grant money, brings the MPD up to five officers, fully staffing the local office.
After being short-handed for quite some time, the addition of the two officers will allow the MPD to do other types of policing.
"The community will see things they haven't seen before or haven't seen for a while due to limited staff and abilities," Hartfield said.
Military police chief
With an intensive background in law enforcement that could get him a job anywhere, 43-year-old Hartfield said he was attracted to both the Marion community and police department.
"Marion is a great location. I was very impressed with the community and police department when I interviewed here," he said.
Coming to Marion from Aurora, Hartfield said he and his wife wanted to move to a smaller community and he wanted to return to law enforcement.
"We enjoyed Aurora (Colo.), but it was so huge," Hartfield said. "Marion is a very comfortable environment for my wife and I. She's originally from Kansas, near Liberal."
Prior to taking the job in Marion, Hartfield was working as a custom protection officer/supervisor and lieutenant for the Denver Regional Transit System.
In that job he supervised 30 to 70 personnel in the performance of law enforcement, security, crime and loss prevention, as well as the protection of employees and customers of the Denver Regional Transit System.
A retired U.S. Army officer, Hartfield held several prestigious law enforcement positions during his 20-some year career. During his last six years in the military, he worked as a chief of police, including three years at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland.
In that position, he was responsible for the leadership and management of more than 350 civilian and military personnel, and was responsible for the physical safety of a 72,000 acre installation with a daily population of about 50,000 personnel.
Hartfield said there are differences between military and civilian law enforcement.
"But I've worked with civilian law enforcement organizations since 1993," he said. "Here (in Marion), you have to follow municipal, state, and federal laws. In the military, you have to do all those, plus follow military law."
Hartfield said he was drawn to Marion by the police department's proactive, focused approach to law enforcement.
"They do here with five people what I did with 200 police officers in Colorado," Hartfield said enthusiastically. "The officers are doing a great job and I'm saying this coming from 20 years of experience with eight major organizations, and I truly mean it.
"This is an awesome department in terms of the numbers of crimes solved. The rate they solve crimes is one of the best in the nation," he said. "That says a lot for Chief Soyez and the department."
One of Hartfield's strengths as an officer is his experience with community policing. Basically, that means supporting the community — supporting schools, residences, and businesses.
Hartfield hopes to be involved in the school as much as possible.
"I'm a firm believer that the more positive interaction you can have with children, the more positive influence you can make on young, impressionable minds," he said.
Another part of community policing is taking a hard look at ways of preventing crime in residential and commercial areas.
"I'd like to visit with every business in town and see how we can improve the support we give, and do some crime prevention analysis to see what we can do to prevent loss," Hartfield said. "Perhaps we can come up with some ideas to improve what they're doing.
"They say a locked door doesn't stop a thief, but some types of locks work better than others," he said.
Hartfield and his wife, Phyllis, have five children between them: Two girls ages 21 and 20, two 18-year-old boys, and one 15-year-old boy.
Phyllis currently is taking classes at Butler of Marion. Before coming to Marion, she had her own business, Hartfield said. Although his wife is a Kansas native, the officer hails from Florida.
"I'm used to the cold after living in Colorado," he said with a smile. "But I don't mind the heat at all."
Working with kids
Josh Whitwell is the rookie on the Marion Police Department.
A Marion High School graduate, Whitwell said he liked working with people — kids in particular.
"Hopefully, I'll be able to help steer them the right way," Whitwell said.
Originally from Oklahoma, Whitwell's family moved to Wichita when he was a child.
"There was too much crime and we moved here when I was in the eighth grade," he said.
His interest in working with youth goes back a long ways. After graduating from MHS, Whitwell worked as a teaching assistant at Marion Elementary School. He also coached PeeWee football, coached baseball, and even played Santa several times.
"I wanted to be a teacher, and I still might," he said with a smile. "But right now, this is where I want to be."
Before joining the police force in January, Whitwell was working at Marion Die and Fixture, before that he worked at Cessna in Wichita, and even for a time at Seacat Hardware.
"When I was working at Cessna I knew I'd be laid off, so I talked to Chief Soyez about joining the department," Whitwell said. "There was nothing available then, but he said maybe something would come up later."
Whitwell said his only reservation about becoming a police officer was a worry about how his family would take it.
"My wife was really supportive, and Mom wasn't too happy with it at first, but she knew it was something I'd like, and she's OK with it," he said.
Whitwell is married to the former Clark Wildin, also of Marion. They have two children, Jordan, 3; and Jacob, 10 months. Whitwell is the son of Eddy and Janet Whitwell.
"There's danger involved with the job, but it's few and far between," he said. "But no place is 100 percent safe anymore."
After he competes training at the law enforcement academy, Whitwell hopes to begin working more with kids. Recently, the MPD announced it would be discontinuing the DARE program because it only involves police interaction with young children.
"We need to be with kids up until they're 17 or 18 years old," Whitwell said. "We want to show them cops are safe and friendly. We're not the enemy."
Whitwell said he enjoys working with people and thought this would be an interesting way to do that.
"I felt I'd be in good company, and I can't get in trouble here," he said with a laugh.
