Spanish Fort swears in new police chief

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SPANISH FORT – The Spanish Fort Police Department has a new chief following the swearing in of John Barber on April 6.

Barber, a 23-year veteran of the Mobile Police Department took office replacing David Edgar who retired in November. Since Edgar’s retirement, Lt. Kenny Hall served as acting police chief before also retiring.

Mayor Mike McMillan presented Barber with his badge during the ceremony.

“It’s certainly a pleasure to have you here,” McMillan said. “We look forward to a long relationship and thank you right up front for jumping into the fray.”

Barber thanked McMillan and the council for the appointment.

“I’m extremely excited for this opportunity,” he said. “For the last several weeks, I’ve thought about today and how it starts a new era for Spanish Fort and the Spanish Fort Police Department. I think it’s kind of fitting that the department is going through major renovations, new paint on the floors, but I think it’s symbolic of the future.”

Barber said he has been talking to Spanish Fort officers since his appointment was announced and is pleased with the department.

“I look for amazing things for the SFPD,” the chief said. “I think the potential is there to take this department to a new level that we are going to be that premiere agency that everybody else is following.”

He said he also wants to talk to residents as soon as restrictions imposed to prevent the spread of COVID-19 can be relaxed.

“I want to meet with all of my officers and talk about the challenges for the department and the city and then once we get back to out there with the public,” Barber said, “I want to unlock those doors and meet with the citizens and hear from them about what they see are the challenges facing the city as we move forward as the city becomes a completely different place over the next 10 years.”

He said that while the Mobile Police Department is different from Spanish Fort, he feels his experience will be useful.

“In Mobile we were extremely resourceful,” he said. “We were dealing with a crime issue that required us to use everything at our disposal, technology, to be innovative to maximize what we do every single day on each shift. Crime suppression is what we deal with a lot in the city of Mobile. Here, it’s a different challenge. Instead of crime being a No. 1 priority, we are more service oriented in Spanish Fort.”

He said the department will also face challenges serving the city and residents as the community continues its rapid growth.