Police chief ends career spanning over three decades

LANCASTER – Ed Rutherford was the mayor of Lancaster, Jimmy Carter was president of the United States, and in 1979, the Lancaster police department swore in its newest officer, David Bailey.

Now, more than 33 years later, with a short break to work security at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, that officer rose to the top of the department he truly loved in the community he so deeply cared about.

His last day in the department will be Monday, when he will officially retire.

"This has been a wonderful place to work. I can't think of any other job that could have held my interest for so long," Bailey said. "LPD is a great department, and I am proud to have had the privilege to lead it."

Lancaster Mayor Dave Smith praised the work done by Bailey.

"Dave, in the last 7¹/₂ years as chief, has brought the police department to a new height of efficiency, organization, and community outreach," Smith said. "Much of that has been with the cooperation and by joining together with other members of his staff and law enforcement agencies."

He spent seven years as chief, bringing to the job a sense of professionalism and stability that had been tough to come by.

He and former chief Randall Lutz had taken the reins of the police department after a series of misconduct allegations had forced resignations and retirements of two previous chiefs and the incarceration of a former Fairfield County sheriff and a municipal court judge.

The local law enforcement community, both at the city and county level, were dealing with serious morale problems and trust issues.

While Fairfield County Sheriff Dave Phalen was trying to restore the morale and image of the sheriff's office, Lutz, who served as police chief from 2000 to 2007, and Bailey, who served as police chief after 2007, were doing the same thing at the police department.

"Lancaster was pretty blessed in having Dave as chief," Phalen said. "He really could have been a chief in any major metropolitan community."

Bailey had the experience to do the job. Bailey had been with the Lancaster Police Department since October 1979. He started on the force after graduating from Ohio State University with a degree in history.

In 1988, he left the police force for a four-year hiatus to be the assistant security director at Children's Hospital in Columbus. He returned to the Lancaster police force in March 1992. Bailey was promoted from sergeant to deputy chief and then to chief in 2007.

When he became the chief, he immediately reached out to the patrol officers and the public, asking for suggestions on how to improve the department.

Bailey also has been heavily involved with local community service organizations. He has served in the Lancaster Rotary as a past president and on the community advisory board of Fairfield Medical Center. He served on various other boards throughout the community.

He assumed command of the department right as the city was heading into the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.

"Bailey was uniquely qualified, having gone through every level of the police force during his career," Smith said. "He understood the problems facing the city and the department and, working with his deputy chief and captains and lieutenants, was able to reach the highest level of efficiency with being able to respond to the safety needs of the city."

Smith said the department was very resourceful during the recession in obtaining grants to fund items such as personnel and cruisers.

"I think it was more than $200,000 in grants they brought in, probably more than any other time in the history of the department," Smith said. "He will be missed."

One of Bailey's constant priorities in becoming chief was to find ways to get more officers on the streets. He reviewed the police department's command structure and eliminated some management positions to put more officers in the field.

He also developed a task force pulling a small group of patrol officers with a supervisor to focus on neighborhood problems. The task force did not respond to normal radio traffic calls, instead concentrating on continuing and festering neighborhood problems, such as speeding or drug houses.

He also helped bring together, along with Phalen, the different law enforcement agencies — from the villages, city, county and the Ohio Highway Patrol.

"I am very happy to have played a small role in bringing together all of the law enforcement partners in this county," Bailey said. "We all enjoy an outstanding relationship."

Throughout it all, he could be counted on to keep his humor, be professional, and approachable.

"He will be missed," Phalen said. "There were many times when I turned to him for counsel on items that had come up or were challenging to us. But the department has many good qualified people working in it who are ready for the task and they will do a good job. "

When asked what his best memory is during his police career, Bailey said it was bringing Stacey Fairchild's killer to justice.

Fairchild was a teenager who was brutally killed in 1998. In 2009, her killer was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

The worst days of Bailey's career are also tragically easily for him to recall. They were the deaths of Lancaster police officers Brett Markwood and Randy Bartow.

Markwood was shot and killed by a Dairy Mart robbery suspect on Feb. 21, 1993. Bartow, a decorated police officer, was killed off-duty trying to protect a woman from her ex-husband on Oct. 23, 2012.

Bailey said his best assignment was working as a detective sergeant and patrol sergeant, where he was most closely working with the people of the community and with the officers on patrol.

His worst assignment, he said, was working the city hall basement's public restrooms for public indecency violations.

"The doors to the restroom opened out on Broad Street, and we had to spend whole days in there," Bailey said. "It was pretty awful."

It has been a career that touched many lives.

"So many interesting things have happened over the years, I wish that I written it all down," Bailey said. "From meeting Mitt Romney, Bill Clinton and Joe Biden to chasing burglars through the fairgrounds, this has been a very interesting career."

Although Bailey is retiring as police chief, he decided to accept a new position with the Ohio Board of Optometry as an investigator.

cburnett@lancastereaglegazette.com

740-681-4346

Twitter: @CarlBurnettJr

Major changes during Bailey's administration

•Acquiring TASER CED weapons.

•Mobile data terminals in the cruisers.

•TASER Axon body-worn cameras for the Patrol Bureau.

•Addition of one officer to the Court Security Unit and SCRAP team.

•The creation of a first-ever reserve police unit.

•Electronic submission of incident and accident reports.

•The addition of video simulation firearms training.

•New redesigned police badge for the department, based on older-style LPD badges.

•The formation of the Citizen Police Academy Alumni Association.

•Enhanced police patrols of Lancaster schools.

•More than $1 million in grant funding obtained for the department.

•The replacement of the headquarters building roof, replacement of the emergency generator, painting and upgrading of the police headquarters building.

•The lease of a Harley-Davidson police motorcycle from Joe Carson for $1.

•The accreditation of police department's Radio Room/911 Center through the PowerPhone Total Response system.

•The hiring of a designated property room manager.

•Establishment of a personnel evaluation system.

•Establishment of monthly command staff meetings, a department bulletin, and a Monday morning briefing.

•Establishment of biannual uniform inspections.

•Bringing back the office of police chaplain with the Rev. Tony Salvatori.