BVPD hires three new officers

Keith Bryant/The Weekly Vista Officers Anthony King (left), Michael Larson and John Hearron started with the Bella Vista Police Department this year.
Keith Bryant/The Weekly Vista Officers Anthony King (left), Michael Larson and John Hearron started with the Bella Vista Police Department this year.

Three new officers joined the Bella Vista Police Department for 2018.

Officers Michael Larson, John Hearron and Anthony King will be headed to the Arkansas Law Enforcement Training Academy in Northwest Arkansas Jan. 22 and, after the 13-week course, will go for a minimum of 12 weeks of field training before flying solo.

Hearron said he's a former Marine and, after five years in the corps, he's moving into public service. He's excited to learn his new job and expects to do well, he said.

"In the military, I got used to working with people, I'm used to working hard, so I'm not going to be someone who's lazy," he said. "I'm looking forward to just doing my job and, in the future, moving up."

King, a former service manager at Phat Tire Bike Shop, said this is a job he's been interested in for years and he finally decided to go for it. He's glad, he said, to get the job, even if the job is proving to be more nuanced than he may have initially expected.

There are a lot of small steps along the way to becoming a police officer, he said, and there are lots of small things to learn.

"I think that it's more than what I thought it would be at first, which is exciting," King said. "It's good to know there's more to it than just jumping in a car."

Larson said he was looking forward to his new line of work. He worked in a grocery store for six years, he said, while working on his education. He now has a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from the University of Arkansas, he said, and he applied at Bella Vista and other police departments.

"I'm really glad to get this job," he said. "Been looking forward to it."

Thus far, he said, he's enjoyed working at the department and he's excited to be out in the public, meeting people and having a different day at work every day.

"I'm definitely excited for pretty much every aspect of the job," he said.

General News on 01/10/2018