By Kenneth Books
Fort Walton Beach’s loss is Niceville’s gain.
New Niceville Chief of Police Mark Hayse took the reins of the city department Aug. 30, succeeding David Popwell, who retired March 1 after serving as chief for nearly 20 years. Hayse, 56, previously served with the Fort Walton Beach Police Department for 24 years as part of a 33-year law enforcement career.
Hayse, who grew up in Fort Lauderdale, didn’t originally plan on a law enforcement career. But, he said, “A friend in the Oakland Park Police Department asked if I wanted to be a cop. I said no.” Instead, the then-19-year-old planned to enlist in the U.S. Marine Corps. But eventually, he chose law enforcement in March 1987.
The apple, as it turned out, didn’t fall far from the tree. Hayse’s father was also a police officer in the 1950s and 1960s.
In the mid 1990s, Hayse went a different direction, buying a Domino’s pizza franchise in Kentucky. But, he said, “I ended up not liking that.” So, it was back in uniform for him. He moved to Deadwood, S.Dak., where he served as assistant chief, then to Fort Walton Beach, where he rose to deputy chief.
Then, he said, “The (Niceville) job became available. I chose to retire at Fort Walton Beach and seek out new challenges.”
Hayse said the highlight of his time at Fort Walton Beach was service as a major crime detective. It also taught him a lot about himself. “I felt I had a lot to offer in terms of leadership,” he said.
Niceville is a low-crime area, which works right into the new chief’s goals.
“I want to include community engagement,” he said. “I want to introduce new programs and events, which will build relationships.”
Hayse’s wife, Jane, and he have two grown children. The new chief is an avid outdoorsman, enjoying fishing, boating and hunting.
“I love Niceville,” Hayse said. “It’s a great community. The police department impressed me with great employees and officers.”
One area in which the department will be heavily involved is the introduction of speed cameras in the city’s school zones, designed to reduce or eliminate drivers ignoring the 20-mph speed limit before and after school.
A city speed study found that 57% of vehicles disobeyed the speed limit in the Lula J. Edge Elementary School zone; 42% sped through the C.W. Ruckel Middle School zone.
Florida has the third-highest pedestrian traffic fatality rate in the U.S. Okaloosa County has the fifth-highest fatality rate per capita in the state, according to a Florida Road Safety report release by Altumint, the company that is helping Niceville launch its program.
The cameras are expected to go on line in late fall or early winter, according to Shawn Teets, the city Director of Emergency Management. “They’re not intended to be intrusive,” he said. “Our interest is in preventing the loss of child lives.”
The program, which is authorized by the Florida Department of Transportation, will impose no upfront or pocket cost, Teets said, as Altumint will provide the equipment. Revenue from any tickets that result will go to the county, state and crossing guard programs.
The next step will be the hiring of an officer to monitor the recordings and to validate any citations that are issued. Teets said a public information campaign is planned to make people aware of the cameras.
While some resent any surveillance by the government, Hayse said he believes these concerns are outweighed by the benefits.
