Buena Vista City Council didn’t have to look far to find its next police chief. David Clements, a 16-year veteran of the department who has been serving in his second stint as interim police chief since February, was the unanimous choice of City Council this past Thursday to fill this role on a permanent basis.
Wayne Handley, interim city manager and former police chief, offered a strong endorsement of his former second-in-command of the police department, recommending that Council remove the “interim” tag from Clements’s title.
“My opinion, based on my training and experience and my direct observation and working with Assistant Chief Clements, is that he is well qualified to take this position, to lead this department, to continue the traction that we have gained in the programs,” Handley told Council. He said he’s observed the job Clements has been doing, and found the change in leadership to be a “seamless transition.” Handley said he doubts the citizens have detected any “difference [in the operations of the police department] because [Clements has] maintained the high level of standard that we have come to expect from the Buena Vista Police Department.”
Asked by Mayor Jesse Lineberry why he wanted to be police chief, Clements responded, “this is absolutely the only place I want to be.” Having been with the police department since 2010, he said, “I’d love to finish here. So, you know, I love serving the city and this group of individuals and the leadership that Chief Handley brought here.”
When Handley took over the department in 2023, Clements continued, “[he] brought a vision and a direction for these guys, and they all instantly just bought into it. So, you know, I’m just carrying that on further and just kind of doubling down on it.”
Council member Michelle Poluikis said Clements “has just done a wonderful job, and I thank you [Handley] for all the time that you’ve invested in him, because I think the proof is in what he does. He does a remarkable job.”
Lineberry said Clements is “somebody I’ve always looked up to so I would be proud to ask for a motion to confirm David Clements as the new chief of police.”
Ron Cash made a motion to that effect which Council passed 7-0.
