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By RICHARD HARRIS
(From the Sept. 13, 2006 issue)
Ken Suddeth, former marshal of Muscogee County, has been chosen as the first police chief of the new Unified Government of Cusseta-Chattahoochee Police Department. He began work earlier this week.
Chief Suddeth must now help to build the department from the ground up, starting with interviewing and hiring officers, as well as ordering weapons, vehicles and equipment. Finding officers apparently won’t be a problem, as he has around 150 applications for 10 positions.
“It is a tremendous challenge, but we will have the department fully up and running as soon as possible,” he
Suddeth said his goal is to hire good people and give them the most training that he possibly can, believing that training is valuable and makes officers better.
“Training is very important in law enforcement,” he said. “By having training, officers become better and are more able to protect and serve the citizens.”
In addition to technical training, he said training should include “how to treat people.”
“You have to enforce the law, but you also need to have empathy for the public,” said Suddeth.
Suddeth’s interest in law enforcement began after he completed 5 ½ years in the Air Force during the Vietnam War and enrolled in the University of Nebraska with his GI Bill benefits. He took some law enforcement related classes that he found interesting.
“I still find it to be an interesting field,” he said. “The pay is not great, but it’s fascinating and you have the opportunity to interact with the public and serve their needs.”
He was a police officer in Columbus in the mid 70s, a period in which he also served in the Army Reserves and received training in the Investigation Division.
In the early 80s he left the law enforcement field for a few years, getting into business with a restaurant and package store, but he returned to his chosen field in 1985, working with the Muscogee County Marshal’s Office. He then worked as a probation officer from 1987 to 1992, before successfully running for Muscogee County Marshall, a position he held for three terms (until 2004).
He said the chief of police position in Cusseta-Chattahoochee was attractive to him for a number of reasons. He knows some of the local residents and is excited about what he sees happening in the community.
“I like the enthusiasm and the vision and the plan for the future of the community,” he said.
As noted earlier, Suddeth has wide-ranging experience in law enforcement and public service. However, it’s interesting to note that his road to office and public service began at a very early age.
He was adopted by American parents during the Korean War, coming to the states at the age of 7. However, when he was 11-years-old circumstances left him separated from that family and living in “Boys Town” in Nebraska. It was a home started in 1917 by an Irish immigrant priest who sought to give a good home, education and training to boys in need. One of the things he stressed was civics and self-government, with boys living in cottages and
The young Suddeth was elected to the Commission of Boys Town when he reached high school age, and eventually was later elected as mayor on two occasions.
“I learned a lot through my experience at Boys Town,” said Suddeth. “Sometimes events in life are hard, but sometimes I think they are meant to be and they are for the good in the long run. Religion became important in my life. The education and training was also very good.”