Festus Police Chief Tim Lewis plans to retire May 1, 2023, after more than four decades in law enforcement, all with the Festus Police Department.
Lewis announced his impending retirement during the Festus City Council meeting on Monday, May 23, saying he wanted to give city leaders plenty of time to find a replacement and then help his successor ease into the job.
“I didn’t want to put the city in a bind,” he said.
Lewis, 62, is paid a $103,000 annual salary.
He began working for the Festus Police Department in May 1982 and has been the chief since 1998.
“I started as a reserve officer,” Lewis said. “I went to full time in December 1982. By May of next year, I will have had 40 years (full time) in Festus.”
He said he is proud of his department and appreciates the support it gets from city leaders.
“I’ve never seen a better group of officers than what we have here now,” Lewis said. “The city of Festus is a great place to work. The mayor (Sam Richards) and the City Council are all outstanding. I’ve been here 40 years and have never seen the city in better financial shape and in good shape overall. We’ve got great leadership.”
Lewis said he has seen many memorable cases over the years, but two stick in his mind more than others.
“There’s the Diana Braungardt case that’s never been solved,” he said. “She went missing in 1987. She had come out of the Venture store, which later was Kmart (in Crystal City). We’ve had at least five or six cold case starts over it.
“Then, Nicholas Sheley, where he’d murdered six people in Illinois, then two in Festus.”
Lewis said advances in technology have made law enforcement work easier.
“Technology has greatly improved,” he said. “Like with fingerprint identification, it has gone from identifying them in months to seconds.”
On the other side of the ledger, Lewis said he believes other changes have hindered law enforcement officers.
“There’s been a push to victimize criminals,” he said.
“There’s just been this push in not making people accountable for their actions. They’ll get arrested over and over for the same crimes. In 2019, they passed a new law on bonds where you can’t keep people in jail. We’ve arrested people literally dozens of times for the same things. How do you explain that to your victims?”
Lewis said law enforcement officers also should be held accountable for their actions, but he feels the climate for police officers has become too harsh.
“We should be accountable, but it’s swung too far to the side of protecting criminals,” he said.
Lewis said another change he has seen is a push for law enforcement officers to get more education.
After attending Jefferson College for two years, Lewis earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Southeast Missouri State University and a master’s degree in criminal justice from Lindenwood University.
“When I started, I was one of the few officers with a degree,” he said. “Now, it’s much more common.”
Lewis said he has enjoyed his career.
“It’s been rewarding, fulfilling,” he said. “There are things I’d have done differently, but it’s been rewarding.”
Richards said he is happy Lewis gets to retire soon, adding that he will miss him.
“He’s done a great job, but we’re losing a great chief,” Richards said.
City Administrator Greg Camp agreed.
“I really hate to see him go,” Camp said. “Tim and I have had a good working relationship for five years.”
Camp said city leaders will start the search for a new police chief internally and if a suitable one can’t be found from within, then they will seek candidates from outside the department.
Lewis said he plans to spend some time during retirement traveling.
“I want to travel without time constraints,” he said. “I’ve got family in Oklahoma, Indiana, Illinois, Texas – all over the country.”
He and his wife, Linda, have two grown daughters, Madison and Haley.