Mefford Named Jacksonville’s New Chief of Police

By Gary Scott on March 28, 2017 at 6:12am

The City of Jacksonville has a new Chief of Police.

Adam Mefford was appointed as the city’s new Police Chief by Mayor Andy Ezard at last night’s City Council meeting.

Mefford joined the Jacksonville Police Department in 1999. Since that time, he has served as a patrolman and field training officer before becoming a sergeant. In 2014, Mefford was promoted to the position of Lieutenant for the patrol division, and the next year, started working as Lieutenant of Investigations.

With family and a handful of friends in attendance, Mefford says it’s a privilege to have been named Jacksonville’s newest Chief of Police.

“It was just a great honor to work for the Jacksonville Police Department continually. I’m sure had the Mayor decided to open up for applications outside the department, we would have gotten some golden resumes. There are plenty of qualified people in this area, so it’s just a great honor,” says Mefford.

Mefford says he’s embracing his new responsibilities, and that he’s ready to get started.

“This is not a retirement job for me. I started my career here in ’99 and I’m going to end it here, so that’s something that I’m really proud of. I’m really looking forward to the challenge, but hopefully once I get my feet under me, we can start implementing some things that I’ve been brainstorming about and in the direction that I want to see the police department go,” says Mefford.

Mayor Andy Ezard says the hiring process was a difficult one, but that he’s extremely confident in Mefford’s leadership.

“It was a very tough process, and that’s a good thing. The four individuals that applied, the interviews were really good and I took a lot from what they had to say, but in the end I felt comfortable with Chief Mefford, he just checked off all the boxes for me,” says Ezard.

In other action at last night’s workshop, most of the conversation centered around whether or not the city should spend around $10,000 on a pool feasibility study. Alderwoman Marcy Patterson as well as several other council members were in favor of keeping the pool at its current location in Nichols Park, while alderman Steve Warmowski felt that the council should consider a possible relocation.