A steady force

Thirteen years.

It seems impossible in today’s mobile workforce, but Robert Kessler served as chief of police in Creston during an incredible period of stability in the department three decades ago.

Kessler, who grew up on a farm south of Creston and served in the U.S. Army for a three-year stint beginning in 1958, joined the Creston Police Department in 1966. He served as chief from July 1, 1974 until retiring on Nov. 1, 1995.

From 1977 to 1990, there was no turnover in the police department. Creston received national recognition in the media for the incredible stability under Kessler’s guidance.

During that period, Kessler was joined by Dean Jarman, Marion Manley, Dick Teply, Bill Heatherington, Rick Piel, Lonnie Novy, Duane Osmun and Rudy Saville.

The force stayed with that roster until officers Tom Hartsock, Pat Henry and Roger Saxton were hired in 1990 as the department expanded.

Kessler said he relied a lot on his military experience as chief and tried to run the department as it if were a military unit. There were some innovations to make it a more family-friendly job, such as a 6-3 scheduling format that had them working 3 to 11 p.m. for three days, 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. for three days and off three days.

Kessler, who had worked the midnight to 8 a.m. shift for seven years as a patrolman, worked with Manley and Heatherington on the novel scheduling approach that received national attention in a law enforcement periodical.

“That kept them home six out of nine nights,” Kessler said, “and was much better for their families. We were looking for men who wanted to make their homes here and raise their children here. I was lucky.”

Kessler served in the Army in Rapid City, South Dakota, and Minneapolis as a missile base computer operator. He returned to Creston in 1961 to farm with his father, Ernest. But he realized he missed the teamwork and service he experienced in the military.

Kessler was hired by Chief Frank Holliday on Jan. 12, 1966. He was promoted to sergeant in 1969, appointed acting chief on July 1, 1974, and received his permanent appointment on Sept. 29, 1974.

Kessler made it a priority to have a well-trained staff, with help from state officials. He said that became especially helpful with the onset of illegal drug activity in the 1970s.

“When I was chief I tried to run it like a company in the Army,” Kessler said. “We had excellent people. We tried to upgrade everything in education. (Mayor) Bill Weaver was a backer of the police department. We started getting more education and training in the new computer systems that were coming into effect.”

Drug investigations

Kessler said Mayor Terry Donahue also supported the police department as narcotics work became more of a focus. It changed the work of officers, often requiring long investigations that utilized undercover officers.

“I think it about 1974 when they sent me up to Des Moines to work with the vice unit,” Kessler said. “They converted their vice unit into a narcotics unit. I worked a month up there. It was very helpful. We knew nothing about narcotics.”

Jo Ann Duckworth, currently Director of Emergency Management in Union County, was Kessler’s secretary at a time when computerized systems provided much faster information to officers working cases.

“Our record keeping system got a lot better,” Kessler said, “and we were able to process information so much faster. When I started, if we ran a (license) plate number on Friday afternoon, we might get something back on Monday.”

During Kessler’s time in the department. the office moved from above the fire station on Maple Street to a temporary location across the street before the Law Enforcement Center on the north end of the Union County Courthouse.

Kessler’s department never had to use deadly force, but he was involved in a fatal traffic accident with a colleague in 1968 and was shot in the abdomen in a standoff in a Creston home in 1993.

Kessler was driving a patrol car with juvenile probation officer Gale McClure as a passenger when their vehicle was struck by a driver running a red light at the intersection of Adams and Elm streets. McClure died a few days later from his injuries. Kessler escaped with minor injuries.

1993 shooting

Kessler was in his home on the evening of Nov. 3, 1993, when he was called to a situation developing on North Division Street.

An incident that began as a domestic dispute in Cromwell culminated in a standoff with Ricky F. Bird in the Creston home of his sister. His sister and Bird’s young son were removed from the residence by two officers, leaving Sgt. Heatherington inside with Bird. Kessler had known Bird from previous incidents and gained his trust to enter the home. Bird, brandishing a .22 caliber handgun, did not want any other law enforcement inside.

“The situation continued to deteriorate,” said then Union County Sheriff John Coulter. “When it got to a point that it looked very dangerous, they made an attempt to take him by force.”

The weapon fired just as Heatherington reached to push Bird’s hand down. The shot entered Kessler’s left side, struck the pelvic bone and shattered. Pieces spread throughout the abdominal area but didn’t strike vital organs. Kessler was hospitalized for several days after undergoing surgery, but had a full recovery. The shot might have been fatal if not for Heatherington pushing Bird’s hand down. Heatherington later became chief of police.

It was the first instance of a local officer shot on duty since 1926, when Union County Sheriff Fred Col lings was killed serving land condemnation papers at the George Gibson residence in Thayer.

“His alternatives were gone,” Kessler said after the incident. “He hollered a few times he ought to shoot one of us. Before, he had said he wouldn’t shoot me. I was afraid he would shoot Bill. That’s why I made the first move.”

Bird was later convicted of murder as the result of another domestic incident in Creston, and sentenced to life in prison in 1997.

Kessler said officers often did foot patrols of Creston during a fuel crisis, when many of the retail, eating and drinking establishments were in the uptown area. Later the commercial scene grew along Highway 34 and the percentage of daytime only offices grew in the central business district. That changed the patrol procedures.

“When I started we had 21 different places that sold alcohol,” Kessler said. “It was a totally different than you see today. Things kind of advanced in terms of the education of the community and the fighting and stuff you had to deal with in the various places But then the drugs came in and we got busy on that. One time we were working with the DCI and spent almost $50,000 of state money on undercover buying of drugs. That’s when we got 24 arrests all in one shot one night.”

While there were challenges, Kessler enjoyed the teamwork of the department and the variety of the job. He participated in street policing just as much as his officers.

“Every day was different,” Kessler said. “It could be quiet as a bird dog and then all hell would break loose. You just tried to build a rapport with the people. I told my guys the last thing we want to do is arrest somebody. We tried to help people as much as we could, but you still had to work for (public) safety.”

Kessler, now 83, is retired with wife Janet in Creston. They also spend some time in the winters in southern Texas. He’s been involved in training hunting dogs and in helping to develop a hunting farm south of Kansas City with a partner.

“It’s not commercial, it’s all privately owned and we just have guests,” Kessler said. “We’ve developed the hunting area. We plant crops, built a new lodge years ago. We hunt turkeys, deer and geese down there on 270 acres.”

Bob and Janet, married 64 years, raised two children, Kathy and Troy. He said he wouldn’t trade his career and family life in the community he grew up near.

His retrospective view is upbeat for someone who was shot on the job and nearly killed another time in an accident.

“Creston is a good town with good people,” Kessler said. “I was very lucky.”