No early vacation for retiring chief Darrell Smith who takes on new leadership role Oct. 7 with Tulare Kings Police Academy

By Ed Martin, Editor
Lemoore Chief of Police Darrel Smith at Friday's (Sept. 27) Kings County Public Safety Appreciation Luncheon.
Lemoore Chief of Police Darrel Smith at Friday's (Sept. 27) Kings County Public Safety Appreciation Luncheon.
Gary Feinstein/Feinsteinfotos

Lemoore Chief of Police Darrell Smith has earned a well-deserved vacation. He could certainly take one. He recently announced his retirement and has about two months of vacation time remaining on the city’s books. His official retirement date is December 2. However, instead of taking a few weeks off, he’s going right back to work – doing what he has done for the last 30 years, but in a slightly different role.

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On Monday (Oct. 7), Lemoore’s native son and popular police chief, will assume the top job with the Tulare Kings Police Academy, the law enforcement training school located at the College of Sequoias Hanford campus. He will assume the academy’s director's job.

But first, he will end his career as Lemoore’s chief of police on Oct. 4 when he officially begins his vacation, but instead of a possible excursion to Pismo Beach and some well-deserved time off, he’ll hang up his Lemoore holster and strap on a new one, helping to train a brand-new crop of law enforcement officers.

On Friday (Sept. 27), he was still on the job, putting his considerable oratorical skills to the test at the Kings County Public Safety Appreciation Luncheon where he honored one of his officers, Eric Trevino, as the department’s 2019 recipient. In all, 15 individuals, from police officers to firefighters from throughout Kings County were honored as an audience of about 350 looked on.

Smith’s upcoming retirement will conclude a 30-year career as a front-line police officer, a job that began in 1990 after the Hanford Police Department hired him while still a police academy student.

The personable and outgoing Smith is a Lemoore boy, a 1983 Lemoore High School grad who, shortly after graduation, started his own construction business. But it wasn’t enough for the ambitious young man. He entered the local police academy intent of becoming a reserve police officer. But he did so well that he graduated No. 1 in his class – academically and physically.

Little did he know that 30 years later, he’d be in charge of the Kings-Tulare Police Academy.

His positive attributes and outstanding work ethic in the Academy had the Hanford Police Department come calling. “I went to the police academy and graduated number one overall. They (Hanford) hired me even before I got out of the academy.” He earned his police badge during his graduation ceremony.

He started as a police officer and during his 24 years in Hanford earned a captain’s rank. “I was second in command when I left,” he recalled. That’s because Lemoore came calling and needed an interim police chief.

Chief Smith enjoys lunch with Lemoore Police Department employees at Friday's Public Safety Appreciation Luncheon.
Chief Smith enjoys lunch with Lemoore Police Department employees at Friday's Public Safety Appreciation Luncheon.
Gary Feinstein/Feinsteinfotos

“I came over to Lemoore to fill in as an interim chief position. It seems Lemoore’s current chief, Jeff Laws, took on the city manager’s job, leaving the police chief’s job open. “To be honest, at some point in time, I wanted to be a police chief. I always believed that at some point, I would end up here, and when I got here, I just felt at home.”

It turns out that Lemoore liked Smith. He was a home-town boy who felt right at home in the police chief’s chair. Soon, he was offered a full-time job and signed a new contract in 2014.

He soon found himself in an enviable position. He found out exactly how committed his staff was to Lemoore. “I fell in love with these people. This community is special. It’s a special place, and to me, it’s an honor to be the police chief for this community – and the department is second to none.”

His guiding force is his dependency on a robust set of core principles. “You should have core values, and they should never change. We always need to see about doing things better. I like to challenge myself with new ideas and new projects, and modify them, to make sure they’re always productive.”

Lemoore City Manager Nathan Olson will definitely miss Smith’s strong, guiding presence. Olson is currently in the process of finding a new police chief, and in all likelihood, the new chief is expected to come from the city’s uniformed ranks.

“The chief has performed flawlessly,” said Olson, who, using the city’s website, has solicited suggestions from the public as to Smith’s replacement. “He’s done an awesome job providing leadership and a good succession plan. He has some great officers ready to assume leadership roles within the department.”

That’s why Olson is doing an internal assessment. He knows that Smith has prepared his troops well for the future. “I absolutely believe in the leadership skills of Chief Smith. I’m confident we have internal candidates who can go on to lead the department.

“It’s the end of one chapter in local law enforcement, and we’ll soon start a new one. It’s been my pleasure to serve with him,” said Olson.

There was once an era in local enforcement when new officers often came to Lemoore solely for the experience, worked a few years and then left for the bright lights of the big city where generally police officers tended to earn more in salary and benefits.

According to Smith, those days are long gone. “One of my first priorities was that I knew that Lemoore PD had some really good people working here. I (spent some time) looking at their salary and benefits and reasoned that they needed to be adjusted.”

With the cooperation of Lemoore’s leaders, while the typical Lemoore police officer may find the price of a private jet a bit out of reach, he or she is certainly earning a better salary. “We don’t have the turnover rate we used have in the past,” said Smith. “It takes a lot of money to train an officer, to make him or her productive and efficient. If you’re always training them for another agency, that’s not a good way to go about business. It’s something I’m very proud of. It all comes down to how you’re treated in an organization.”

Smith remembers his time as a patrol officer, the long hours, working graveyard, and spending hours in court. “I never forgot that.” “I admire leaders who treated their people with the utmost respect. They never forgot where they came from. I admired leaders for that.”

No early vacation for retiring chief Darrell Smith who takes on new leadership role Oct. 7 with Tulare Kings Police Academy

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