FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 19, 2019
Contact: Mayor Lioneld Jordan
Office of the Mayor
479-575-8330
mayor@fayetteville-ar.gov
Fayetteville Police Department Chief Greg Tabor Retires
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark.— The City of Fayetteville’s Police Department Chief, Greg Tabor, will retire on September 20 after working 34 years with the City. He is the second longest-serving police chief in Fayetteville history. Mayor Lioneld Jordan has appointed Deputy Chief of Police Mike Reynolds to serve as interim chief beginning September 20.
Greg Tabor joined the Fayetteville Police Department in 1985 as an officer on morning shift patrol. He was then transferred to the K-9 division where he worked for several years. He became a certified police dog trainer and trained several canines for police departments throughout the state. Tabor continued to advance in rank at the department serving in roles for drug task force, jail administration, criminal investigation, and more. He was promoted to police chief in 2006.
During Chief Tabor’s 13 years of leadership, he ensured the department kept pace with changes in technology, weaponry, training, and community policing. Today, Fayetteville police officers are equipped with state-of-the-art weaponry, body-worn cameras, ballistic protection, and active shooter kits. All officers are certified in CPR and every patrol car is equipped with an Automated External Defibrillator (AED), tourniquet, and Naloxone (used to prevent opioid overdose). Supervisors and officers receive additional training in leadership, crisis intervention, diversity awareness, and numerous other advanced skills. The department has achieved national recognition, accreditation, and reaccreditation with the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, the Arkansas Law Enforcement Accreditation Program, and the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials.
Chief Tabor matched agency growth with population growth by upgrading the records management system, adding two dispatchers, five school resource officers, and nine officer positions. The community policing division has expanded and is on pace to conduct more than 200 community events this year. In 2012, the department secured approximately $7 million-dollars to join the Arkansas Wireless Information Network – providing statewide radio and interoperability coverage. Most recently, Chief Tabor successfully assisted Mayor Jordan in securing a $38 million-dollar bond for a new police headquarters building and indoor firing range.
Mayor Lioneld Jordan said he could always depend on Chief Tabor to be dedicated, conscientious, straightforward, and collaborative with the administration. The Mayor appreciated Tabor’s calm demeanor and quick acceptance to work on challenging, serious, and complex situations.
"Chief Tabor has made the Fayetteville Police Department one of the most progressive and responsive police departments in the state," Jordan said. "It has been an honor to work with him. And as much as I will miss him, I know that the department’s excellence will be maintained because of the foundation established by Chief Tabor."
Prior to joining the Fayetteville Police Department Tabor worked as a firefighter/EMT for the City of Eureka Springs and as a deputy for the Washington County Sheriff’s Office. He attended the University of Arkansas, Northwest Arkansas Community College and North Arkansas Community College. Tabor traveled to Europe and trained with most renowned police dog trainers in the world. He is an Arkansas state certified instructor and has taught many new police officers in drug investigation techniques at the Arkansas Law Enforcement Training Academy. He is a graduate of numerous prestigious leadership programs, including:
- the Senior Executives in State and Local Government Program at Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government;
- Leadership in Diversity and Inclusion at the University of Arkansas;
- Northwestern University’s Senior Management Leadership Program;
- the FBI’s Leadership in Counterterrorism program, and;
- session 76 of the FBI’s Law Enforcement Executive Development Seminar.
Chief Tabor has also served on the Arkansas Association of Chiefs of Police Board for the past nine years and the University of Arkansas Criminal Justice Institute Board for the past three years.
To learn more about the Fayetteville Police Department, including how to become a police officer, visit www.fayetteville-ar.gov/police.
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