Tony Spivey stepped down as Police Chief of Ozark on Friday, closing the book of an illustrious 30 year career as a law enforcement officer. Spivey started his career as a radio dispatcher in 1984 with the Ozark Police Department. He later went on to serve patrol and then became an investigator. This was followed by a promotion to Commander of the Criminal Investigation Division, and finally appointment as Chief of Police in 1996.
Tony Spivey remarked on retirement, “For 32 years I’ve given all my energy to this job, and the people of Ozark. I’m excited, but at the same time it’s bitter sweet.” He will be succeeded by Capt. Tim Hicks, who will serve as interim police chief.
Over his long career, Spivey worked in numerous cases to seek justice for the victims. One of his biggest cases centered around the sexual abuse of a 4 year old girl who was later found murdered. Spivey and his team worked hard to bring the perpetrators to justice and they were eventually captured in Michigan.
Spivey has also been instrumental in implementing several programs in and around Ozark. He introduced the neighborhood watch programs across the city, which helped to solve many criminal cases. In 1997, he implemented the one man, one car program, which enabled an officer to take the department vehicle home at the end of the shift. This ensured that there was added police visibility in most neighborhoods around Ozark. The close presence of departmental vehicles in housing areas also allowed officers to respond quickly to emergency situations. Spivey was also responsible for starting a homicide unit with the traffic police. These officers were in charge of investigating traffic related fatalities.
Since Tony Spivey took over as Chief of Police, the number of law enforcement recruits in Ozark has doubled. This has helped to make the streets safer and has lowered crime rates in the city.