“I started thinking about it in April,” relaxed Eureka Springs Police Chief Thomas Achord explained about his Sept. 1 retirement. “My mom, who was in the Passion Play cast, was excited to see a college roommate who had come to town on a tour coach. She sprinted up the stairs to greet her friend.
“The next morning her ankle was sore, and things kind of compounded over the following weeks. Now she can get around, but she needs help and that’s me.”
Thomas said he’s a mama’s boy and proud of it. “I’m an only child. I am ready to change my life and take care of my mom. I promised her I would and that’s what I’m going to do.”
Achord, who has lived in Eureka Springs since 7th grade, has been on the ESPD for 19 years. He was appointed chief on New Year’s Eve 2014, replacing Earl Hyatt. He’s 48 now, until Sept. 3, but has 31 years of public service in Arkansas as he was previously a firefighter at Holiday Island and an EMT.
“It’s really about public service,” he said in his office Monday. “I started out at the U of A in Civil Engineering, but honestly got bored with that and wanted to be more community-oriented.”
He oversaw the Holiday Island Water/Wastewater Dept. until there was an opening at ESPD in May 1999.
“This is a personality challenge for me,” he said. “I don’t want to be the face of the police, but I want our officers to be. Eureka Springs is different from any PD I know about. Tourists frequently need help, need to know we’re here to make their stay easier, more enjoyable.”
Achord rode his bike downtown for 10 years, a time he refers to as his favorite as he was able to assist and guide visitors while getting in great physical shape.
“We had workout equipment here at the PD, but about ten years ago we auctioned it off and now use the room for new drivers taking their test. It’s more community minded that way,” he said.
Achord has seen a lot of changes at ESPD, including a time when three dispatchers left in a short time and doors had to be locked because he couldn’t ask two people to work 24/7 with no days off. “We actually had to lock the door on certain shifts. But we discovered we didn’t have a key to lock the front door because it had never been locked.” New hires covered that in short order, and ESPD now has 11 full time officers and five dispatchers, plus auxiliary help.
Achord insisted that the most dispensable person in any department, or corporation, is the boss. He also has high praise for his boss, the mayor, who appoints the chief without needing city council approval.
“[Mayor] Butch Berry had to make tough financial decisions when he took over. Achord said. “He instituted a hiring freeze and cut spending to build reserves. Payroll was even in question. But after three-and-half years, our heads are above water. This building is even paid for.”
Achord said the biggest hiccups with tourists are drinking and driving or drinking and getting mad. “I’ve never seen a situation where there was danger or a distress call when only marijuana was involved, but alcohol and drugs bring out a different energy in some people.”
Local problems are predominately the result of illegal drug use, a neck-and-neck race between heroin and meth.
“We’ve made numerous arrests of young and old with meth. We arrested seven in a heroin ring. But the cost of drugs is affordable and it’s coming in from the West Coast and Mexico. The price of a pound of meth five years ago was $12–15,000, now it’s a third to a half of that. And it’s uncut. So cost of smaller amounts has dropped dramatically.”
A significant moneymaker for ESPD is parking meter quarters, and now with Passport Package that went live on August 1, people can download an app, pay for the amount of time they want, leave downtown to say, go to Sparky’s for lunch, then go back downtown and still use the time they’ve paid for in any metered spot. “It’s a big help, friendlier, and keeps merchants from having to stock quarters,” he said.
When asked what happened with the detective agency he started several years ago, Achord laughed and said, “That was a circumstance where a friend asked me to help him find a relative. I couldn’t legitimately use resources of ESPD for private work, so I set up an agency and worked it that way. I did three cases then closed it up, disbanded the LLC.”
Achord, who has no TV, said he’s ready to get his hands dirty, claiming he is a world-class weed puller. “My mom loves to garden, but she’s limited to watering now. So I’ll do the tilling and planting, she’ll hold the hose.” He plans to replant the peach and apple trees his dad had in Elk Ranch.
“My wife and kids and our best friends like to camp in Wyoming every summer. No cell phones, no Internet, just natural sounds. They went without me this summer, but it’s okay, I’m doing what I want to do and that’s be the best mama’s boy I can be.”