Area sheriff's captain sets his sights on new leadership role farther north
Mar. 4—A captain for the Buchanan County Sheriff's Office is looking to use his vast experience in the area in a new endeavor as he runs for the spot of Holt County sheriff.
Capt. Tiger Parsons is no stranger to the Holt County area. As a current resident, his intention is to return home to provide leadership and experience.
"It allows me to go back home where I've grown up, where I live and take all these skills that I've developed and put them to use for my hometown and all the small burbs of Holt County," Parsons said. "I literally grew up there ... I know that county and I love that county."
He said this is something he has worked for his entire career.
He began his career in law enforcement with the St. Joseph Police Department in 1990. From there, he became a member of the Buchanan County Drug Strike Force in 2001. Over the years of working for the county, he rose the ranks from being a sergeant to a captain at the Buchanan County Sheriff's Office.
He learned under the ranks of many of his peers including John Funk, Steve Powell, Mike Strong and the current sheriff, Bill Puett.
From each, he said he picked up valuable life skills that he uses today and will continue to use in the future if elected as sheriff.
Funk taught Parsons the importance of taking care of those around him while on the job and his peers doing the same to him. Powell taught him the importance of using quick thinking during the shift.
"I learned from him really the importance of being able to tell somebody that something needs to be done and that there's no disagreement," Parsons said. "Sometimes you have to do that in critical incidents, there's no time for discussion. You make a decision, you order it done (and then) it's done."
From everything that he has learned, Parsons developed a three-point approach for what he wants to stand for and accomplish if elected as sheriff.
The first goal is to train those on the force in the best way possible to make them great officers but to also have good retention to keep those officers in the community.
The second order of business is to establish an aggressive but fair enforcement that encourages officers to be proactive in their duties to better protect and serve citizens.
Finally, he wants to increase investigation and patrol practices. One of these ways is by adding a rural crimes investigator to help track various crimes throughout the entire county.
"We want people to feel comfortable and know that when they call us, we're going to do everything in our power to fix their problem ... that's all they want and that's what we're going to do for them," Parsons said.
Parsons said he is confident that he can win the race.
"Obviously, as a candidate, you want to be victorious," Parsons said. "I am bringing all these skill sets and I'm going to put them to use to build a nice, trained professional department up there that the people can know is going to take care of them."
From his time at the St. Joseph Police Department and working in many roles for Buchanan County, Parsons looks back on his time in the area fondly.
"I want to thank the people that I served because they made this job wonderful. We don't make it good, they made it good. To the people of Buchanan County, the city of St. Joe, I just want to say thank you for letting me serve you," Parsons said.
The election will take place Aug. 6.
Riley Funk can be reached at riley.funk@newspressnow.com.
