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New police chief stresses professionalism of force
A new figure to the city of Mountain Home, John Walter, of Kansas City, Kan., is the new chief of the Mountain Home Police Department.
Walter served as a baptist minister before going into law enforcement. His father was a baptist minister, his two brothers-in-law were ministers and his wife's grandmother was a missionary. "I bring a foundation of faith to the job," he said.
In his time as a minister, Walter also worked with children in a Christian school from 1984-1986.
"Just like law enforcement, that was about serving people and at that time being a role model and a mentor."
Walter feels that law enforcement and people of faith share the same principals, such as honesty and integrity.
"There's a real nexus, in between whether we are accountable to God and to the citizens of Mountain Home and Idaho."
As a minister, Walter was taught to respect everyone, regardless of their situation in life, that carried over into his law enforcement career and how he treats people with nothing but dignity and respect.
In his brief time, living in Mountain Home, Walter noted that "you can take Mountain Home and put in the middle of Kansas and Missouri and I wouldn't know it was Idaho. It just reminds me of home."
Walter believes Mountain Home has a great quality of life and enjoys seeing how the people care about each other and how he can get anywhere in town within two minutes.
"It's really nice to see a community where people know their neighbors. That's something that makes Mountain Home really special."
Walter acknowledged former chief Tom Berry, and how from what he has learned from the department staff, Berry was a wonderful person and a tremendous leader during his 10 years of service as police chief.
Walter acknowledged the work done by acting chief Julee Bunderson. "She worked hard to bridge a gap between the previous administration and the current administration and will be a valuable asset of this administration."
The hiring process, according to Walter was very insightful. Walter was interviewed by both Mayor McNeal and Mayor-elect Rist. In order to get the position, Walter passed a background investigation conducted by the State of Idaho Peace Officer Standards and Training staff, a polygraph examination, a psychological examination, a drug screening test and a basic medical examination.
In his few days with the department, Walter has been very impressed. "It is a real professional organization."
Walter recognized his hard working staff. "They're talented, dedicated and they truly care about this community."
Walter has been impressed with the partnership programs already in place involving volunteers and cadets, something that Walter didn't see much of while working in Prairie Village, the city where he previously worked.
"It's special when we work together with the community, that way we are able to solve problems and issue a great sense of community spirit. That is what is important."
Walter's philosophy on law enforcement includes the 4 P's (Positivity, Professionalism, Productivity, and Progression/Proactive).
* Positive -- "Be positive in yourself and the community"
* Professionalism -- "The officers are held to the highest standard of behavior whether on or off duty. The officers represent not only the city but the police department."
* Productive -- "The taxpayers who pay our salaries expect a great service of caring and safety. We should be setting goals and accomplishing those goals."
* Proactive -- "Status Quo is not acceptable. Where we as a department needs to look down the road and adapt at what we need to do to serve the community efficiently and effectively."
"That's how I expect them to get the job done day in and day out."
During his brief tenure, Walter has met many of Mountain Home's department heads including Stan Franks (Parks and Recreation). "You can tell the amount of passion he has for the city just by talking to him."
As Walter begins his tenure, he is working through an assessment phase. Within the next couple of months Walter plans on meeting with every individual in the department, going over things like what is and is not going well with the department, what should they be doing as a department and what service should they provide?
"My belief is that it is not my job to impose my vision of law enforcement, but to discover what their visions are."
Walter also plans on meeting with the City Council, Mayor Rist and other key people in the community, gathering information on where they could do a better job.
According to Walter, the assessment phase should last 30-90 days. "This will help us provide the best responsive police service possible, which is the reason I work 14-, 15-, 16-hour days, because there is a lot of information to assess."
Walter looks forward to working with Mayor Rist and the new council. "It's nice to work with someone with the same passion and visions for where the community needs to go and for the new councilmen that bring a fresh insight and energy to the job."
Walter's future plans for the department are to make it the most professional and responsible police department possible. Walter's overall goal is for people to be proud to live in Mountain Home and proud of the police force.
Walter has served in law enforcement for 21 years. He worked with the Prairie Village Police Department during his entire career. In 2007 Walter retired from Prairie Village after a five-year tenure as commander of the Investigations Division, in addition to overseeing investigations. Walter also had the responsibility of accreditation manager for the department
Walter is married to his wife of 25 years, Janis, who was his junior high sweetheart. "She's a wonderful woman for putting up with me for so long," said Walter.
Walter has two sons, Jason, 23, who works in insurance, and Jeremy, 20, a sophomore at Emporia State University with a declared major in Administration of Justice.
"We think he may be falling in the footsteps, but we're not sure yet."
Walter's educational background consists of a BA in Church Education from Baptist Bible Church in Springfield, Mo., an MPA, from the University of Kansas, which Walter finished in 1998, and a graduate of the 198th session of the FBI's National Academy Program.
"In the program, I got to rub shoulders with some pretty bright people," he said.
Walter was the recipient of two medals of valor in 1993, due to responding to a bank robbery on St. Patrick's Day 1992. While as an assistant officer, Walter was working crossing guard duty for a local school, when he heard the bank alarm going off.
Walter responded to the alarm, and spotted the criminal leaving the bank. Walter pursued in a car chase that concluded when the bank robber was stuck in traffic approaching the state line border of Kansas and Missouri.
Walter confronted the criminal and tried to take him into custody, when the suspect pulled out an automatic weapon, resulting in a gunfight where Walter killed the bank robber.
"I was very lucky and fortunate that I never took a direct hit, but it was that close and I feel very fortunate that I received the proper training necessary to handle the situation."
In referring the incident to his current situation, Walter noted, "I want to ensure the officers are trained to the highest level so that if they get into harm's way, they could get home safely the next day. I hold this as a serious responsibility."
While working with Prairie Village, Walter acknowledged his previous commander, Charles Grover, Chief of Police for Prairie Village for 16 years, and who worked with Walter for 10 years.
"I worked for a great boss, a tremendous leader and a good mentor. He is the reason I'm sitting here today."