Lots of well-wishing last night at Lexington city hall for police Chief Mark Barnard. The recognition came for the retiring head of the division of police who’s spent three decades in law enforcement.
Mark Barnard says he’s watched a city grow up and develop plus been able to work with great officers and commanders. The police chief says that was evident when concerns were raised about law enforcement incidents in some U.S. cities. “We stayed ahead of the curve when the country was going through some of the processes that it went through with Ferguson. We looked at that as opportunities instead of looking at setbacks to say how can we get better,” said Barnard.
Barnard says he thought about retiring a year ago, but the mayor asked him to stay on. The career law enforcement man indicated he looks to transition to a new position, assisting the man who hired him, Mayor Gray. Barnard had high praise for acting police chief Ron Compton who has come up through police ranks over the same period of time.
