Longtime Valley police officer retires
Published 6:21 pm Wednesday, February 27, 2019
- Wayne Clark | Times-News retiring: Valley Police Chief Tommy Weldon, left) poses with David Smith, (right) who is retiring after 28 years in law enforcement.
VALLEY — On Monday, the Valley City Council honored a Valley Police Department officer who is retiring after a 28-year career in law enforcement. David Smith has been with VPD since 2000.
His final day on the job will be Friday.
Police Chief Tommy Weldon presented him a plaque and commended him for the better portion of two decades of outstanding service. Smith received a standing ovation from the council and the crowd at the meeting.
A Valley native, Smith joined the U.S. Army at 17 years of age and saw duty in Persian Gulf War with the Third Infantry Division. He later served as a lieutenant with the Talladega Police Department before coming back home to Valley.
Wayne Clark | Times-News
retiring: Valley Police Chief Tommy Weldon, left) poses with David Smith, (right) who is retiring after 28 years in law enforcement.
“It’s been a long time for me to get to this point,” he said Monday. “It has been an honor to serve the citizens of Valley. I’ve enjoyed working with lots of good officers here at the department.”
“We’ll miss David,” Weldon said. “We’ve enjoyed working with him.”
Weldon said he could remember lots of good things Smith had done since he’d been on the police force, but one incident in particular stood out in showing what kind of officer he was.
Several years back there was a horrible incident on the CV Trail when an elderly couple was attacked while walking one morning. The man was tied up while the woman was sexually assaulted. When the assailant left, the couple walked back to Walmart to report the incident.
Weldon said that Smith spent several hours at the hospital to see that the woman would be OK. He then returned to the scene of the crime and noticed someone matching the description of the assailant walking on the trail. He then went to talk to him and during a consent search found the driver’s license of the man who had been tied up while the woman was being assaulted.
The subject was then placed under arrest and taken into custody.
Weldon said it spoke well of an officer to go back to the scene, and as good fortune would have it, locate a suspect in the area. It spoke even more of him not to vent his anger by assaulting him. It was a professional arrest all the way.
