Decatur hires new police officer

— A new officer, Chuck Eggbrecht, recently joined the Decatur Police Department.

Eggbrecht has 18 years of experience in law enforcement.

He began his career as a jailer for the Benton County Sheriffs Office before becoming a field deputy. He also worked for the Centerton Police Department for a number of years.

In Centerton, Eggbrecht was a field training officer, a firearms instructor, a canine handler and officer of the year, among other things.

Eggbrecht’s police dog is now retired and lives with him.

“I wore many hats over there (in Centerton),” he said.

Eggbrecht moved to Colorado for three years before coming to Decatur. Even though he enjoyed the beauty of Colorado, he grew tired of working with the drugs and gangs and missed the southern hospitality of Arkansas, so he decided to move back to the area and take a job in Decatur.

“Southern Hospitality is real,” he said.

News, Pages 3 on 11/11/2009