After filtering through 22 applications for the position of Police Chief, Corbin city leaders decided Thursday that the man for the job was the one who had been doing it for the past three months.
Retired Kentucky State Police Trooper David Campbell was officially made permanent Chief of Police during a special meeting of the Corbin City Commission Thursday morning. The move came a day after the city’s Police and Fire personnel board met to determine who would be the best candidate for the position. Corbin City Manager Bill Ed Cannon said the board interviewed “three of four” of the candidates before settling on Campbell.
“Me working with him for the last three months told me what I needed to know,” Cannon said. “I saw a work ethic. I saw compassion. I saw knowledge and experience. In my opinion, we are lucky to have someone of this caliber in Corbin, Kentucky. I can’t believe he came out of retirement.”
Campbell was gracious after being named Chief, thanking commissioners for their decision and praising the department’s officers.
“This is really a fantastic police department,” Campbell said. “We have some very, very good proactive officers.”
Campbell served with Kentucky State Police from 1972 until he retired in 2000. He was a Trooper for about 10 years before joining the KSP Narcotics Division, now part of the organization’s Special Investigations Unit. During the three years before his retirement, he served on a federal drug task force that tracked the distribution of marijuana from Mexico into the interior of the country. While undercover with the task force, his investigation led to the purchase of over 3,000 lbs. of marijuana, numerous arrests and the seizure of over $2 million in property from alleged drug dealers.
Campbell is a highly decorated officer with KSP, twice named Trooper of the Year. He received two citations for bravery, two for meritorious service with valor and two more for meritorious service, as well as the Screaming Eagle award for effectiveness in arrests and recovery of vehicles related to auto theft.
Campbell said he decided to come out of retirement simply because he missed being a police officer.
“I’m a policeman. It’s exciting work and I missed it,” Campbell said. “I’m still having fun doing this.”
Campbell said he plans to work on winning grant funds for the department and will fight to increase officer pay to help fend off problems with turnover.
He also plans to get the department more active in the schools and implement a “meet and greet” program whereby officers get to know business owners and community residents better.
“It is sad that usually the only contact these small children have with a police officer is in a negative situation,” Campbell said. “Mom or dad is getting a ticket or is going to jail. It’s really important to show people that the police aren’t out there to cause them harm … they are there to help.”
During his time as Chief, Campbell has been active, often answering calls himself and working late hours recently during flash flooding in Corbin.
“There’s a lot of administrative stuff to being Chief, but there is a good chance if you call the police department I will show up,” Campbell said. “I think you should lead by example. Respect is earned, but it is a very fragile thing. I think these men know all they have to do is call and I will come out. I don’t mind at all to come out.”
