By Thomas Sellers Jr.
New Millington Police Chief Arthur Heun (left) chats with Millington City Manager Ed Haley moments after his appointment to the position.
Needing a majority vote from the Millington Board of Alderman tonight, Arthur Heun was appointed as the new Millington Police Department chief by a 5 to 1 vote.
Not present for the special called meeting at Millington City Hall were Mayor Terry Jones and Alderman Hank Hawkins. The five yes votes came from Bethany Huffman, Frankie Dakin, Larry Dagen, Thomas McGhee and Mike Caruthers. The one no vote came from Alderman and Vice Mayor Chris Ford.
Heun told reporters after his appointment he starts the job tomorrow. Heun, a veteran officer, takes over for outgoing Chief Frank Tennant.
Tennant resigned Tuesday morning after $12,000 came up missing from the evidence room at the Millington Police Department.
The Millington Board of Alderman held a closed-door executive session with their attorney Monday night and voted to fire the three officers. Tennant resigned the following morning as the missing money matter was still under investigation by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
Heun came to the attention of City of Millington official by the recommendation of City Manager Ed Haley. Haley introduced Heun to the large crowd in City Hall.
Heun took to the microphone answering questions from the Alderman. He noted his years of experience including 27 years with the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, stops in Tennessee and Olive Branch, Miss.
“To begin with, I will sit down with the men and women of the Millington Police Department,” Heun said. “As I said a moment ago, these guys have been (though a lot) with the number of chiefs they’ve had the last four years.
‘It’s got to have a devastating effect on them,” he added. “They don’t know how things are going to be from day to day. This week it’s this way. The next week I have a new chief that does it this way. It’s got to be unsettling for them.”
