New La Vergne chief plans to ‘hold everyone accountable’
Christopher Moews started earlier this month to change the perception of a police department rocked by a sex scandal.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - Leading the La Vergne Police Department by example is how the city’s new police chief plans to tackle the job.
“I’m going to focus on leadership, and I believe in servant leadership,” said Chief Christopher Moews.
Moews is a nearly 30-year law enforcement veteran. Most of his career was centered around holding several roles within the Milwaukee Police Department. He said so far the transition from one town to the other has been good.
“Although it was a transition from one agency to another, I do have experience policing in a smaller community,” said Moews. “This was a fairly smooth and easy transition for me.:
The City of La Vergne hired Moews after the last chief and five other officers were fired because of a sex scandal. The investigation revealed the officers were let go for having sex with each other while on duty and at times on city property. Former Chief Burrel “Chip” Davis was fired because he was aware of some of the officers’ actions.
“I’ve emphasized with my command staff that we’re going to have higher standards and that we’re going to hold everyone accountable to those standards,” said Moews.
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Moews said the La Vergne Police Department is a professional agency that has learned from past mistakes with plans to move forward and look towards a better future.
“We’re going to make sure that we are not expecting of our people what we don’t demand of ourselves, and so that’s the one thing I believe has potentially been lacking in the past, and that we will move forward from here with,” said Moews.
He’s completed almost two weeks on the job and he said one of the first things he’s working on is implementing body cameras for his staff. This was an initiative the city had to implement before he came on board.
“From my experience in law enforcement, body-worn cameras is a very very good tool, not only to hold us accountable but also to have documentation of the activities that our officers are engaged in when they’re on a call for service,” said Moews.
Moews served the City of Milwaukee since 1996. His law enforcement credentials include being a member of the Police Chiefs Use of Force Review Committee, the Critical Incident Review Board, and the Police Officer Support Team.
Moews first day in La Vergne was Sept. 6.
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