Lt. Murray to be next MP police chief

Lt. Lyle Murray is the next chief of the Mt. Pleasant Police Department as Chief Ron Archer looks toward retirement on Feb. 22, 2019.

The Mt. Pleasant City Council approved Murray as the next police chief during a regular city council meeting on Wednessday, Dec. 12. The council interviewed one other candidate for the position before offering it to Murray.

'We have a fantastic department and I just want to keep the tradition going and stay ahead of the times,” Murray said. 'The No. 1 thing is keeping our community safe. We want to continue that, continue having a safe community and try to protect citizens best we can.”

Murray has served as lieutenant for the department for 6 1/2 years. He has been with the Mt. Pleasant police department for 16 years.

Murray said he loves his job and the other officers he works with. Law enforcement in southeast Iowa is fantastic at working together and he gets to have a lot of fun, Murray said.

Murray also enjoyed the challenge of solving crimes.

'When we have people come into our community causing crimes, it is a challenge and it's exciting to remove that,” Murray said. 'Hopefully, it helps make the community safer and they feel that we do work hard for them.”

Murray's goals as the next police chief are to keep up with technology and eventually get body cameras for the officers.

Murray was working in Colorado at a fireplace business when the police chief in his hometown reached out to his mother and mentioned that Murray should become a cop, Murray said.

'The more I thought about it, the more I was interested and took advantage of the opportunity.”

Murray started police work in Vermont where he was a police officer for five years before relocating to Mt. Pleasant to be closer to his wife's family.

'The city, the community, it's a great place to raise kids. We have a great school system, lots of good people and it's just a nice community,” Murray said.

Murray said that Archer has been a great chief to him and has given him guidance over the years.

'He's been here for 35 years, and I just don't think people understand how much he's done for this community. Nowadays people switch jobs pretty rapidly. Thirty-five years at any job is a testament to that people's ability to stay,” Murray said.

Murray is grateful to Archer, the city council and the community for giving him the opportunity to be the next police chief and asked anyone in the community to call the police department if they have any questions about the transition.

Archer, who has been with the department for over 35 years and was chief for 6 1/2 years, said that it's time to turn the reins over to someone else.

'I have a lot of confidence (in Murray),” Archer said. 'I think he'll do a great job. He's very energetic, dedicated to the department, reliable. I know when he undertakes something he'll get it done and get it done right.”

Archer will be working with Murray to prepare him for his departure from the department in February. Archer said that they are getting everything in place for a smooth transition, so the community doesn't notice any interruption.

Archer said he will miss the department and the people in the community.

'I just want to thank the citizens of Mt. Pleasant. They've been good to work for. I couldn't ask for a better (city) counsel. The mayor has been supportive, and I have especially had a lot a support from the city administrator Brent (Schleisman),” Archer said. 'We've got guys here on department who have been here a lot of years. They've also made my job easier. They know what to do.”

Mt. Pleasant Mayor Steve Brimhall said that the council thinks Murray will do a great job as police chief.

'He has the administrative capabilities to do the job. He's been a fine investigator and is ready for the next step,” Brimhall said.

Brimhall said he also hates to see Archer retire.

'Everybody seems to like Ron. He is a professional. He's a good guy,” Brimhall said.

The Mt. Pleasant Police Department will be posting a job opening for a new lieutenant.