Julie Davis
jdavis@cherryroad.com
Retiring Nebraska City Police Department Chief Dave Lacy is a fine storyteller, and 43 years in law enforcement have given him many stories to tell.
Chief Lacy spent part of his last week on the job as the featured speaker at the July Hot Topics on July 10 at the Morton-James Public Library.
Lacy admitted he questioned his decision to join the force during his first shift in August 1981. He was waiting to transport a suspect to jail from St. Mary’s Hospital at 4:30 in the morning.
“I gave up a seven-to-three job Monday through Friday for this?” Lacy told the audience. “Well, this isn’t going to last too long.”
But last it did. Lacy worked his way through the ranks, becoming a sergeant in 1991, a captain in 2004, and chief in 2006.
He talked about how he gained a fresh perspective on the community after he and his wife rode the trolley through downtown Nebraska City on a Saturday afternoon. Hearing how visitors on the trolley were complimenting the community gave him a chance to look at the town through their eyes and see things he otherwise took for granted.
Chief Lacy is leaving the department fully staffed with a number of technically smart officers who often helped him with questions about his computer or hand-held radio.
He said he learned a very important lesson when he attended the Federal Bureau of Investigation Academy at Quantico, Va., in 1991. One of his instructors said that the Bureau “can’t hold a candle to small-town departments” that have to solve crimes and conduct investigations with limited resources.
The Nebraska City Police Department is an accredited department within the state of Nebraska, an achievement once held only by larger agencies such as the Nebraska State Patrol or the Omaha or Lincoln Police Departments.
He encouraged young people to join the Nebraska City Police Department, particularly those with good heads on their shoulders and good common sense.
“No one wants to do this job any more,” he said, “but I believe it is still an honorable profession.”
During his presentation, Lacy also spoke about a new service the department can offer. The Nebraska City Police Department has joined Project Lifesaver, which employs a tracking bracelet to help primarily monitor the location of people with autism, but Lacy said it has applications for families with members who may have dementia or Alzheimer’s.
Project Lifesaver offers training, monitors, and equipment that can help locate a missing person who is wearing one of the project’s bracelets to protect him or her from harm.
