PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — Deputy Police Chief Chris Hayes has been promoted to police chief and will officially assume his new job title after an announcement at the next City Council meeting on Feb. 7.
Hayes has been serving as interim chief since Laurie Kelly retired on Jan. 5.
“I am just going to take it step-by-step right now,” Hayes said Friday. “Obviously the most important thing is the safety of the city and that’s what Chief Laurie Kelly did amazingly for so many years.”
Hayes has been a member of the city’s police department since 2007.
“[Hayes] was one of five, or six people, that interviewed for the position,” said City Council Chairperson Kevin Freeman. “The [Police Chief] Review Committee selected his application above everybody else.”
A replacement deputy police chief hasn’t been selected, but Hayes and the department will be looking at a list of Presque Isle sergeants, Freeman said.
Hayes will also be looking to hire two new officers.
The city’s police department will be training officers on the new bluetooth tasers that link up with body cameras in the coming months.
Hayes said he plans to send officers out to schools more often for community readings with the young kids and to visit Presque Isle High School.
