The City Wire Person of the Month: David Overton

Editor’s note: The City Wire highlights each month a person in the Fort Smith region. Special recognitions, accomplishments, philanthropic support and input from The City Wire readers are considered when selecting a person to profile.

story by Aric Mitchell
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It’s been a 27-year ride for Captain David Overton, but on June 3, it ended for good.

For nearly 10 years, Overton served as captain of patrol operations in the Fort Smith Police Department. His duties included assistance with the airport police, bicycle unit, warrant division, animal control, downtown parking, crime prevention, traffic issues, and supervision of city events. He also acted as a media relations officer. Serving the city with diligence and longevity, he sits behind a desk on the hot summer morning of his last day ready to go home, but not ready to forget.

“Once you’ve served in this capacity, it’s hard to get service out of your blood. Either you like it or you don’t. Over the course of 27 years, I’ve seen guys and gals come through here, and it just didn’t suit them. To others of us, it’s a calling, just like a person’s called to be a preacher,” Overton explained.

Continuing, Overton said: “Sometimes spouses or family can be detractors to the job, but lots of times I think folks see what police officers do on television, and they want that adrenaline rush. That’s not the way law enforcement is, even on the reality shows. Those are just snapshots of some of the more interesting calls. They don’t see the four hours of paperwork you put in for an accident. Watching an officer type just isn’t quite as exciting as Cops.”

Other things people don’t see on TV are the things Overton wishes he could forget. Giving death notifications to the mother and wife, on two separate occasions, of a man, who burned to death in a manufacturing fire, sticks with him as does the grisly act of immersion.

“Immersion is when you take a baby and hold them by the arms and feet and dip them in hot water. It’s bad enough to severely burn a child. I’ve seen it happen twice just in the limited time that I’ve been answering calls over the last few years. Most of the time, the man is responsible. He can’t get the child to stop crying, so he just decides to hurt it in frustration. And what’s heartbreaking is that the mom usually takes up for him.”

‘A SCENE THAT STICKS WITH YOU’
For years, Overton has fought to prevent deaths that result from domestic violence. He is haunted by the scene of 2005’s Christina Springs’ murder, a woman who was knifed to death by estranged husband Thomas Springs at the intersection of Rogers and North Greenwood Avenues.

“I still remember when they brought her kids in here and told them what had happened. It’s a scene that sticks with you.”

That scene is also one of the main reasons Overton still sounds like an impassioned police officer even after all the improvements Arkansas Law has made regarding domestic violence.

“When I started to work here, I couldn’t understand why a woman would subject herself to abuse. Why not just walk out the door? And I say woman because 99% of the time the man is the guilty party. But one of the greatest changes for me came in seeing how it truly works. He controls who she speaks to, who her friends are, every second of every day through her cell phone, normally. The victim gets into a hostage situation where she doesn’t even realize she is one. She’ll get so brainwashed she thinks she’s lucky to have him, and that’s what he’ll tell her.

“It’s gratifying to be able to take a woman out of that situation, and say, ‘Listen, this is what’s happening to you.’ We now try to take control, make early arrests, use that time to get the woman out of there. The law has empowered us, but it’s not enough. Co-workers can have a tremendous impact because, chances are that no matter what sector you’re in — whether law enforcement or office work — you know someone who is affected. We did a study in the mid-nineties that showed well over half of the homicides in this city were the end result of domestic violence. I’m proud of the improvements we’ve made, but if we were all more conscientious about it, think of what we could still achieve.”

EARLY CAREER AND OUTLOOK
Overton joined the Fort Smith Police Department in 1983. It was after a ride-along with a Mansfield Police Officer in the town where he grew up that he decided the profession was something about which he could feel passionate. From there, he enrolled in a two-year law enforcement program at what was then WestArk Community College before making the trip to Fayetteville for a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from the University of Arkansas.

It is this commitment to education that Overton encourages younger officers, and those considering law enforcement as a career, to have. “Get education. Good grammar and report writing skills are essential. Above all, communication is key — reading, writing and listening are the three biggest factors that you need to do this job well. Also, having well-rounded information about other subjects is important. If you think you want to do forensics, take some classes in chemistry.”

Overton’s own path reflects these words as does the willingness to always have higher goals in mind. After one year on the FSPD, Overton became a full-fledged patrol officer. After three, he took the Civil Service promotional exam, which is good for only one year. By 1990, he had been promoted to rank of Sergeant, but it would be 10 more years before he rose to the position that carried him through to retirement.

PARTING REFLECTIONS
While Overton is uncertain of what his future holds, he does look forward to taking some time to figure things out.

“I still have to decide what I want to do when I grow up,” he said.

Overton confesses that he’s not much of a world traveler, and that camping is really one of his favorite pastimes. He is also an active ham radio operator and assists Weather Net with monitoring the severity of storm situations. Even in retirement, his plans to serve the people of Fort Smith continue. That, along with his prolific service record, is how he hopes to be remembered.

“I want the city and my colleagues to think of me as someone, who worked hard, wasn’t lazy, and had the department and the city’s best interests at heart every day. I hope the employees I’ve supervised will think that I’ve been fair to them, even when I had to work with punishment, that I had their best interests at heart considering the department’s as well. I guess the bottom line is you don’t make 27 years here unless you have excellent people that don’t work for you as much as with you, from supervisors to subordinates. You’ve got to be a team.

“I’m not an expert on most of the things I’ve been in charge of. There are people who do those jobs much better. I can’t name one person in this department that doesn’t come in caring about what they do and their service to the people of Fort Smith. We all have bad days, bad decisions, and what not, but this group cares about what they do, and they care about each other. I’m going to miss the people I work with. I know you’ve heard it all before, but this is a team. This is a family. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

THE COMMUNITY REFLECTS
• Wayne Johnson, head of Weather Net: “I was in the police reserve for almost 30 years and know David through that as well as my dealings with him through the Weather Net service that I coordinate. He is a fine fellow, and would bend over backward to help you out, whether he knows you or not.”

• Dick Wakefield, Arkansas Best Corp.: “I’ll always remember some advice he gave. He told me he once overheard a woman telling someone something to the effect of ‘when I get stopped by the police, I just start crying, and I never get a ticket.’ David said that after he heard that, crying guaranteed a ticket. I assumed David had also communicated this to his fellow officers, so I told my wife and daughter, ‘Regardless of how you feel, if you get stopped by the police, do not cry!’”

• David Humphrey, Arkansas Best Corp.: “He was the consummate professional and took his police responsibilities very seriously. However, he could always have fun. We used to have an annual Elvis party and each attendee was supposed to bring a piece of Elvis memorabilia (authentic or made up). All of the regular yearly attendees looked forward to what David and Lisa (Overton) would bring. It was always interesting, creative, and hilarious. Always one of the highlights of the party! … David is a genuinely nice person and someone who was always a great representative for the Fort Smith Police Department and our city. Our city is a better place because of the many years of service he gave us.”