Although the city of Spur had been without a police force for more than eight months, last week when city council hired Billy Spears of Rotan, he was sworn in the same afternoon and reported for duty the next day.
Earlier this week Chief Spears and his wife, Darla, stopped by the Texas Spur office to talk about his plans for the department.
Spears, who brings previous experience from the city police forces in Merkel and Rotan, grew up in the Merkel and Abilene and is well acquainted with West Texas.
He plans to add a full-time officer to the force “as fast as I can get one hired,” he said, but adds that “it will be a selection process” in which he will carefully vet candidates and choose the best. He is open to the option of part-time officers but wants to explore the full-time plan first.
While many small-town policing duties are similar, Spears’ activities in Merkel, along the busy Interstate 20 corridor, frequently included some different challenges, such as drug interdiction and apprehending illegals. In Merkel, Spears relied on the assistance of his K-9 officer, a border collie trained in drug detection, and is “very much behind K-9 programs” where practical.
Right now, acquainting himself with the department’s previous protocols and the city’s most pressing needs is a priority. When asked if he planned to provide a weekly incident report to The Texas Spur, Spears said that he favors transparency.
“It’s an open door policy at the PD” for public concerns, Spears said. “If you want to come see me, let’s do this—if I’m busy we will set a time.”
To Spears and his wife, Spears said, Spur “seems like a polite, family-friendly town; I envision making it as s safe as I can.” The couple will move to the city-provided home at 810 W. Third St. in Spur as soon as their schedule allows.
Billy and Darla Spears attended the Argo Blockchain community event Monday evening at the Palace Theater, and he continued his duty shift afterwards. He is commuting from Rotan until there’s time to relocate.
Spears summed up his philosophy of being part of the community as, “I treat everybody like I want to be treated, until they give me a reason not to.”
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