Green Retires After 28 Years With Bentonville Police

STAFF PHOTO BEN GOFF • @NWABenGoff Jon Simpson, left, Bentonville police chief, presents a collage Friday to Lt. David Green during Green’s retirement party at the Bentonville Police Department. Simpson made the collage as a fun representation of Green’s 28 years of service. Green is the longest-employed officer in the history of the department and the first to begin and end his career within the department.

STAFF PHOTO BEN GOFF • @NWABenGoff Jon Simpson, left, Bentonville police chief, presents a collage Friday to Lt. David Green during Green’s retirement party at the Bentonville Police Department. Simpson made the collage as a fun representation of Green’s 28 years of service. Green is the longest-employed officer in the history of the department and the first to begin and end his career within the department.

Saturday, August 2, 2014

BENTONVILLE -- Two police vehicles sat on the lawn of the Police Department with their blue lights flashing Friday afternoon. More than a dozen officers made a walkway to welcome the nearly 100 visitors who stopped by to celebrate Lt. David Green's retirement.

Green served with the Bentonville Police Department for 28 years and retired with many of the department's "firsts."

He was hired as a patrolman on July 17, 1986, and promoted to watch commander on March 29, 1994, according to a resolution read by Mayor Bob McCaslin and adopted by the City Council at its last meeting.

Green was the first to be promoted directly from patrolman to watch commander, was one of the department's first snipers, was the first to begin and end his career at the department and have the longest tenure in the department's history.

Green developed several programs such as neighborhood watch and risk assessment programs for residents, banks and businesses. He received the Senior Instructor Certificate, the highest certification awarded to Arkansas law enforcement officers, in May 2008.

Green's legacy to the department will include all of those firsts, Chief Jon Simpson said. He will be remembered for his involvement with officer safety, Simpson said.

"He was an advocate for officer safety before anyone else even used the word that way," he said. "He grew with a lot of those concepts."

Green received several gifts from the city and from his fellow officers including an encased flag that flew over the department's building on his last day of service and a shadow box with his first and last badges, commendation coins, rank bars, buttons, handcuffs and a whistle.

It was the 1970s television show "Adam-12" that inspired Green to pursue law enforcement. He said he knew this was what he wanted to do when he was 8 years old.

Green said he enjoyed the variety of the job and that there was something different all time.

He teared up when given the opportunity to address the crowd.

"What I'm going to miss is," he paused to regain composure. "Is the blessing of helping someone who is truly in need. I'll miss the camaraderie of this brotherhood. I thank you all for letting me have the honor and the pleasure for serving with some of the finest men and women on the face of this earth."

NW News on 08/02/2014