Bruce Police Now Has Two Familiar Faces Running The Department

BRUCE, Miss. (WCBI) – Bruce Aldermen not only appointed a new police chief in Tuesday night’s meeting, but also named an assistant chief.

That spot has been vacant for some time now.

Both the chief and assistant chief started with the Bruce Police Department back in 2008, just one month a part from each other.

Now, the two men are starting their new roles together at the same time.

An assistant police chief hasn’t been a title for someone in the Bruce Police Department for around a decade.

The Bruce Mayor and aldermen changed that Tuesday night, when they chose officer Bryan Roberts for the new position.

Eight full and part-time officers make up the Bruce Police Department.

The small department recently suffered a big loss, losing long time Chief Stan Evans to cancer.

After he passed away, there wasn’t anyone to immediately step in and run the department.

“When Stan was here and when he was gone, you know, there was really no body in charge and we don’t really want that. We need somebody in charge with the way the world is today. You need somebody in charge, even when the police chief is gone,” says Bruce Mayor Rudy Pope.

The department hasn’t had a second in command in ten to twelve years.

“Stan was, you know, he could do anything and everything and he didn’t really want one. That was the main reason we didn’t have one is because he didn’t want one, so you know, but he could do it. He could manage it some way, but we’re taking a lot of the work off of the police chief now, with an assistant, so that’s why we did it.”

Mayor Pope and aldermen knew exactly who they wanted to hold the title when they decided to bring the position back.

“Since Stan had been sick for a long time, Bryan had been taking care of all of the scheduling and all of that kind of stuff, so we thought it was just only fair to let him go ahead and be the assistant chief.”

New assistant chief Bryan Roberts not only took over paperwork, but also the chief’s open spot for three weeks, until a new chief was selected.

Roberts believes an assistant chief is a necessity, especially after dealing with the loss their beloved boss.

“No one knows what tomorrow holds and I think you need somebody that knows what’s going on and can step in and just kind of, if the chief is not available, then somebody can step in there and keep everything going the way it should be going.”

Roberts was raised and went to school in Bruce and says the new title is bittersweet.

“It is an honor that the board did see fit to appoint me assistant chief, that they have the confidence I can do the job and I’m going to do it to the best of my ability and serve them the best I can.”

Roberts started out with the department as a part-time officer and went full time in 2012.

He also believes having an assistant chief will help make a smooth transition in the future, if something were to ever happen to the chief.