Poplar Bluff officials have named an interim police chief to take over for retiring Chief Danny Whiteley.
Deputy Police Chief Mike McClain will fill the position of interim chief, effective Sept. 10, said city manager Matt Winters.
“McClain will serve as interim chief until a permanent police chief is named which is anticipated to happen with the next 30 days,” Winter said.
Whiteley is retiring from the police department after 22 years, as the longest-serving police chief in the city’s history.
He will be recognized with a reception from 2-4 p.m. Sept. 9, at the Black River Coliseum.
McClain has served as deputy chief since 2019. He has been with the department for approximately 27 years.
Originally from Malden, McClain worked for the Dunklin County Sheriff’s Department from July 1993 until February 1995. He came to Poplar Bluff in 1995.
In 2019, McClain told the DAR about his interview for the department with Lt. Tom Brown.
During his interview, McClain said, Lt. Tom Brown asked him what his goal was should he be hired.
“My answer to him was to be the highest ranking officer that I could be,” McClain said.
About three years after being hired, McClain was promoted to corporal. He later was promoted to sergeant on June 1, 2005; lieutenant on Nov. 20, 2007; and captain on Nov. 13, 2008.
As deputy chief, he has served as the person in charge in the chief’s absence and helped with managing and directing the day-to-day operations, including working closely in the design and construction of a new police department on Shelby Road.