After 26 years with the Eureka Police Department, Lt. Michael Werges has a new title – assistant police chief.
Werges, 48, began his new position on July 1.
In his new role, Werges will take on additional responsibilities such as supporting the chief in managing the department of 27 officers, hiring and training officers and keeping the budget.
Werges’ salary as lieutenant was $97,500. As assistant police chief, he will be paid $105,000 a year.
Police Chief Michael Wiegand, 68, said he is not pursuing re-election in 2025 for city marshal, who serves as the police chief, so Werges is in line to be the fourth police chief in the history of Eureka’s police department.
Werges said Wiegand prepared him from Day One to be a leader.
“Mike is just a good person in general,” Wiegand said. “He’s always taken the lead on everything I’ve asked him to do.”
A Eureka man
Werges grew up in Eureka and discovered his passion for the police force early on as a DARE mentor for the department. He became a Law Enforcement Explorer in 1989, which gave him hands-on experience in what would be his career.
He graduated from Eureka High in 1992 and earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology at Missouri State University in 1997.
At the time, no full-time police officer positions were open in Eureka, so he served as a reserve officer until March 1998.
From 2004 until 2019, Werges worked as a police K-9 officer.
As he moved up the ranks, Werges strengthened the use of K-9 services in the department with two police dogs, Riki and Reno.
Werges and Riki worked together from 2004 to 2013 when Riki retired from duty.
The Secret Service for President George W. Bush selected Riki and Werges for multiple special assignments.
Werges said the president often fished at a private farm in Town and Country, and the Secret Service reached out to Werges and Riki for additional protection.
“President Bush was a great guy,” Werges said. “Right before he left the office, I got a letter in the mail from the White House. It was a picture of President Bush with his dog, signed by him.”
After Riki’s retirement, Reno became Werges’ K-9 partner.
The pair were named the top narcotics team by the German Shepherd Dog Club of St. Louis in 2013. Werges received the North American Police Work Dog Association Trainer of the Year award in 2017.
Werges was promoted to sergeant in 2016 and supervised a squad of five officers. Four years later, as a lieutenant, he oversaw the uniform patrol, which includes four sergeants and 16 patrol officers.
Learning to succeed
Werges is on track to graduate from Lincoln University with a master’s degree in sociology with an emphasis in criminology in December.
“(Education) helps you in understanding the why; what problems in society contribute to the larger criminal problems we see on a daily basis,” Werges said.
Werges said one out of four people who have a violent encounter with police is mentally ill. He said using tools he learned to understand the signs of mental illness can help to de-escalate certain situations.
He additionally completed K-9 training in 2004 and graduated from the Missouri Police Chiefs Charitable Foundation Command College in 2020.
Werges said he received the best training in the world when he graduated from the FBI National Academy in 2022, an achievement less than 1 percent of law enforcement executives experience.
Years of training combined with an integral understanding of the community will lead to successful policing, Werges said.
He said the secret sauce to successful leadership has some basic ingredients.
“I believe it’s community involvement, educational experience and years of experience in the department and in the city,” he said.
“The biggest thing I’ve learned from the chief is that we’ve done community policing before it was even a buzzword,” Werges said. “(Community policing) is the way we police; it is not a segment or division of the police.”
Werges and his wife, Jennifer, have four children, Michael, Taylor, Adyson, and Brennan, who range from 12 to 26 years old.
“I think from growing up in the community, living here, having raised my family here and continuing to be here – it’s a very integral part of understanding what makes a great community,” Werges said.