MOUNTAIN PINE -- Bill House Jr.'s swearing-in Wednesday as Mountain Pine marshal gives the city a law enforcement officer responsible to it for the first time since January 2016.
The Mountain Pine City Council adopted an ordinance Monday night authorizing Mayor Rick Petty Sr. to appoint House, who will serve part time until the city can find a full-time marshal.
Cities such as Mountain Pine with populations of more than 500 and fewer than 2,500 are designated cities of the second class. They can elect or appoint a marshal, who, according to state statute, is vested with authority similar to that of a constable or sheriff's deputy.
The marshal's authority includes arrest power. An appointed marshal serves at the mayor's pleasure but can be removed from office by a two-thirds majority vote of the city council.
Petty said the city appointed a marshal when it could not reach an interlocal agreement with Garland County to assign a Garland County sheriff's deputy to Mountain Pine. The City Council voted to disband the city's one-man police force in January after Police Chief Chad King was unable to return to work following gunshot wounds he suffered responding to a criminal trespass call in the 2900 block of Little Blakely Creek Road in January 2016.
King, also a commissioned sheriff's deputy, was shot three times but returned fire and killed the assailant. In March 2016, the prosecuting attorney determined King was justified in using deadly force against Scott Scanlon, 52, of Hot Springs.
Petty said House will provide a more constant police presence than the extra patrols the sheriff's office and Constable Bill Carpenter have conducted while the city has been without a police department.
"We decided to do our own thing after we couldn't come to terms with Garland County," he said. "They were a little out of our price range. For that price and a little more we can afford two or maybe three part-time marshals."
Petty said the city plans on hiring one or two part-time deputy marshals to assist House.
House said the City Council and sheriff's office's patrol schedule will determine his hours of operation, explaining that he doesn't want to duplicate services by being on duty at the same time deputies are patrolling the city. He said he plans to work when the sheriff's office's call volume is highest.
"I'd like to coordinate coverage with the sheriff's office," he said. "I don't want to pull them away from their business during their busy hours."
House said he is the operations manager at Harp Security Consultants Inc., where he has worked for 13 years. He said he plans to resign from his part-time job as an officer with the Stamps Police Department in a few weeks. He said he also worked for the Plainview Police Department and served as a reserve deputy for the Hot Spring County sheriff's office.
His father, Bill, is a Garland County deputy.
State Desk on 07/09/2017