BROKEN ARROW, Okla. — Broken Arrow rolled out the red carpet for its new police chief, Lance Arnold. With the grand welcome now over, the grand task begins.
“There’s been enough pomp and circumstance, so now it’s just time to get back to work,” Chief Lance Arnold said.
City leaders selected Arnold about a month ago.
He officially took the reins of the department from Brandon Berryhill with an oath of office taken during a Jan. 7 ceremony.
Arnold left the chiefdom in Weatherford, Texas for Broken Arrow.
“I know that people talk a lot about Texas, but I just wanted to come back for the people, the opportunities that are here, that are just amazing,” Arnold said.
Arnold takes over a department with mounting challenges. Crime, especially larceny and domestic violence cases, are on the rise. That’s according to BAPD’s own stats.
“We’re looking for outcomes, the stats are one thing,” Arnold said, “Do our citizens feel safe? Do they feel safe at night in their neighborhoods? Those are the things that really are the outcomes that we’re trying to seek.”
One citizen he’ll be serving: Steve Cawood.
“I’ve been here since about ‘85, ‘86, never had any problems. It’s growing a lot,” Cawood said.
His family owns the 1907 Mercantile in Broken Arrow. That growth he’s seen is right in line with the police department.
“I can remember, it seemed like there was one cop per shift, now there’s like 40 per shift,” Cawood said.
It was back in August when four BAPD officers were accused of misconduct. Three were fired and one retired.
2 News asked Chief Arnold how he plans to hold his officers to account.
“You can have as many policies as you want, but at the end of the day it’s a commitment to our core values,” Arnold said, “It’s leading by example first and foremost, but it’s also letting people know, accountability and integrity are core values for us.”
“We’re gonna hold our officers and our professional staff accountable when they don’t uphold those standards of our department.”
Arnold plans to spend his first full day in office meeting with community leaders.
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