Monticello Live

Eddy Deaton has a new title at the Monticello Police Department as of January 2012… Chief Deaton. He takes his future goals for the department very seriously.

 “I want to make the Monticello Police Department one of the best departments in the state. I want the officers to have the most updated training and equipment out there. I want to see all law enforcement agencies working together to accomplish a common goal of professional enforcement of the law, and community involvement, to aid in preventing and stopping crime.”

Born and raised right here in southeast Arkansas, Eddy Deaton has made it his priority to see that the area that he grew up in becomes one of the best cities Arkansas has.

 

John and Sharon Black raised their two boys, Eddy and Sam, in many areas surrounding Monticello. Eddy lived in Tillar until the 3rd grade. From there he moved to McGehee schools from 3rd to 6th grade, and to Monticello 7th to 9th grade, and finally back to McGehee for 10th to 12th. He graduated from McGehee High School in 1986.

 

Eddy worked his first job at 14 years old on a farm and also sacked groceries at Sunflower in McGehee. From ages 16 to 18 he worked for a janitorial company at Potlatch cleaning floors and dumping trash on weekends and also cleaned the AP&L office on week nights. At 18 he worked for Bassett Furniture in Dumas sorting wood. This job only lasted about 6 months because it was then time for Eddy to leave for the Air Force.

 

Of all of the jobs he worked as a teenager, Eddy said that farming was by far the hardest.

 

“Long hours, hard work, and very low pay. I worked all summer my freshman year and made a whole 300.00. I made 3 times that much sacking groceries.”

 

As an 18 year old leaving for the military, Eddy Deaton says that one of the most valuable life lessons he earned from his time in the Service was simply being a responsible adult.

 

“One thing I believe the military does, regardless of the branch of service, it makes most men and women grow up to be productive adults. You are tasked with a lot of responsibility to get a job done the right way the first time.”

 

After the Air Force, Eddy began his career with law enforcement when he started working for the McGehee Police Department in 1989. He stayed there until taking a job with the Monticello Police Department in February of 1993.

 

“The hardest part about working the streets was never knowing what was going to happen next, and the shift work. Each call could become a dangerous situation in a hurry.”

 

He went on to say, “I have had several experiences both good and bad, but the ones that stick with all officers are the ones that involve children. Those will remain with you forever.”

 

Since leaving the streets to work as supervisor’s positions, Eddy said that the difficult part of this unique job is the varied responsibilities it holds.

 

“It is a lot different than working the streets. You wear several hats as a supervisor from referee to marriage counselor. Somewhere in between you are still a policeman.”

 

Whether he’s working the streets or being a supervisor, the best part of the job is still the same.

 

“One of the best things that can happen to an officer, regardless of your position, is a simple Thank You. You don’t hear that a lot of times and when you do your job and help someone, that little gesture means so much. I really enjoyed, and still do, helping someone in a bad situation. Rather it be a citizen or an employee. That’s why we are police officers and we need to always remember that.”

 

Eddy and Trish Deaton married on December 5, 2009. He said that she is, “the love of my life and best friend. We do everything together… from cleaning house to vacations.” They are members of Second Baptist Church.

 

Eddy has one son Nick Deaton, and two stepdaughters, Laci Harris and Lindsey Watson. He and Tricia have two grandsons, Crayton and Parker Harris, and Baby Watson is expected to make his or her appearance in July.

 

“I enjoy time with my family more than anything. My wife and I like to go out of town to eat and shop every chance we get, which is sometimes hard to do with our schedules.”

 

Nick Deaton is a senior at MHS and leaves for the US Army in August this year. As his father, Eddy said, “It scares me to death, but I know he wants to make a career of the military and it’s a great option for a lot of people.”

 

MLive asked if his own experience in the military was a major contributing factor to his son’s career choice and Deaton replied, “Nick has talked about the military for a long time and he wants to make a career of it. My time in service may have encouraged him, but I think he wants to do it for himself more.”

 

 

MLive asked Chief Deaton if retirement ever seems appealing and he replied, “Retirement I think crosses everyone’s mind from time to time, but right now I’m looking to make the Monticello Police Department the best it can be and hopefully years down the road, when I retire, the new chief will walk in to a top notch department with the latest and greatest equipment available.”

 

MLive would like to extend our congratulations to Chief Deaton on his promotion, and many thanks to him for his service to the community.

 

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Deaton Sworn in as New MPD Chief
Jan 7, 2012

County Judge Damon Lampkin is shown swearing in Eddy Deaton as the new Monticello Police Chief, Friday afternoon.

Deaton is approaching his 22nd anniversary in law enforcement, having served 3 years in McGehee, before coming to MPD as a patrol officer, 19 years ago.

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Deaton Named New Monticello Police Chief, Rosegrant Retiring
Dec, 21, 2011

After 5 years of service as Monticello Police Chief, after a long, successful career as an Arkansas State Trooper, Robert Rosegrant has announced his retirement, effective January 5, 2012.

Monticello Mayor Allen Maxwell, Monday announced the promotion of MPD Captain Eddy Deaton to the position of police chief, upon Rosegrant’s retirement.

Deaton is approaching his 22nd anniversary in law enforcement, having served 3 years in McGehee, before coming to MPD as a patrol officer, 19 years ago.  Since that time, he was earned several promotions in rank; including, patrol sergeant, CID sergeant, lieutenant, captain, and now chief. 

Deaton, who was instrumental in the recent total revamping of the old radio / telecommunication system, told MonticelloLive that his primary goal is to keep Monticello’s police dept. moving forward, in the ongoing battle against crime.

This entry was posted on Monday, January 23rd, 2012 at 6:23 am and is filed under Feature: OML, Police /Legal. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.