Tillman chief of PSD police department

PRESCOTT – Colby Tillman, former detective with the Prescott Police Department, is the new police chief of the police department for the Prescott School District.

Superintendent Robert Poole said the district created its own police department for student safety. He said there had been issues for the district with the city police department. The district, in the past, hired officers to work at the school and provide law enforcement. However, he continued, there were times when the PPD would removed the officers from the school to have them working the streets and not bothering to notify the school. Other problems were the district was never sure who would show up to be the resource officer and had no say in the officer selected for the position. Some officers, he said, weren’t a good fit for the district.

Because of this, the Prescott School Board approved creating a police department for the district. Poole said this gives the district control over who’s hired, and the district won’t lose officers to work the street. The school’s police department, he continued,was approved by the Arkansas State Police Commission, with the school going through the required procedures and proper paperwork.

Tillman is currently the only officer, but the district is looking to hire more. Poole said he has applications to go through.

As far as the district’s police department is concerned, the jurisdiction is simply the entire school campus, with the exception when students are out-of-town for extracurricular activities. “We don’t want to be involved with anything else,” Poole said. “We have the PPD and Nevada County Sheriff’s Office for everything else. This is to keep the students safe when they’re at school and involved in school activities.”

Tillman, Poole said, has full police powers and is a certified law enforcement officers. He added, if the school needs assistance the PPD will be contacted. In addition, if the city and county need help, the PSD’s department will be available to assist. “The ultimate goal is to keep everyone safe and work together.”