State Police director to retire April 8

Col. Winford Phillips, director of the Arkansas State Police since 2007, announced Monday (April 4) he will retire effective April 8.

Phillips, the former Troop L commander at Springdale, had been retired for the force for five years when Gov. Mike Beebe called in 2007 asking him to come back to the ASP top spot.

“Win Phillips was enjoying retired life in 2007 when I called to ask him to serve his beloved State one more time as Colonel of the Arkansas State Police,” Gov. Beebe said in a statement from his office. “He admirably carried out that duty throughout my first term as governor, and he is now ready to resume that well-deserved retirement. On behalf of all of our citizens, I thank Win for his lifelong dedication to law enforcement and the State of Arkansas.”

Phillips, 73, was employed as an Arkansas State Police radio dispatch operator in 1964 and joined the ranks as a commissioned Trooper two years later.

His assignments over the years kept him in his native northwest Arkansas as he rose through the ranks before retirement to eventually serve as captain and commander of State Police Highway Patrol, Troop L at Springdale.

During his service as an Arkansas State Trooper, Phillips devoted 26 years assigned to the Arkansas Army National Guard, 142nd Field Artillery Unit. In 1990 as a First Sergeant he was deployed to active status in the Persian Gulf War and upon his return from Kuwait was a decorated veteran of both Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm.

"It has been an honor to lead the state’s preeminent law enforcement agency, but the greatest joy has come from my daily association with so many of you who are among the most talented and dedicated people in the field of law enforcement,” Phillips said.

Phillips is credited with pushing a plan to insure the future financial integrity of the State Police retirement system. Members of the 88th General Assembly recently approved legislation that became Act 718, which protects retirement benefits of State Troopers already retired and State Troopers still working today.

In his letter to Gov. Beebe, Phillips mentioned several accomplishments during his tenure. Those include:
• Online interface between patrol car computers and the State Police internal network and the Arkansas Crime Information Center;
• Development of eAFIS that will eventually allow for remote identification checks during the initial stages of a criminal investigation;
• Assigned more than 100 new Troopers to fill vacant positions;
• Rifles and support training for every Trooper;
• Ballistic Engineered Armored Response tactical vehicle (BEAR) for deployment of SWAT and extraction of hostages or endangered citizens;
• Bell 407 Helicopter and supporting technology;
• Cessna 206 fixed wing aircraft for enforcement and support transportation;
• A memorial hall of honor for the 19 Arkansas State Troopers killed in the line of duty;
• Criminal intelligence fusion center opened to serve all Arkansas law enforcement agencies;
• Opened a department computer laboratory to aid and train staff in the operation of new technologies; and,
• Staffed a trained force of Concerns for Police Survivors to assist State Troopers and other law enforcement officers faced with in-service officer deaths.

“I’ve been a part of the Arkansas State Police for 42 of the department’s 76 year history, and today I proudly proclaim the State Police is operating and serving the people of this great state better than ever before,” Phillips noted in the letter.