Village now has a new top cop

PHOTO BY CHRISTINA McCUNE | DGKN
Eric McFarren was approved by council last week to be Dalton’s police chief.

DALTON  Within just two days, a post on The Dalton Gazette’s Facebook page about Eric McFarren being approved May 28 by Dalton Village Council to fill the village police chief position received more than 450 positive reactions and more than 150 comments congratulating him. On top of that, people sent him text and Facebook messages.

He also received shows of support in person. For example, Dalton resident and former owner of Shisler’s Cheese House Rita Shisler swung by the police station and had to give him a hug to congratulate the new chief in person. McFarren worked for Shisler as his first job in high school.

“It was overwhelming for sure,” he said last week at the police station in response to the outpouring of support.

“It has been very nice. I love the support and the friendship. That’s why I want to stay here – for the community. … I want to thank people for their support. A lot of people who didn’t need to say anything but did.”

McFarren fills the seat left by longtime police chief Ryan Pearson who accepted a position at neighboring Apple Creek Police Department. The village advertised and received several applications and council approved McFarren’s application at a special meeting. He said he will continue in his predecessor’s footsteps and he also has some plans and ideas.

McFarren said he had wanted to be a police officer since he was a young child. He went for a ride in a patrol car and he was hooked. He credits Dalton resident Terry Johns with fueling his interest in becoming an officer. Johns recently passed away and had served as village councilman and had a lengthy law enforcement career with various agencies.

McFarren graduated from Dalton High in 1989 and was serving on the mounted unit at Medina County Sheriff’s Office when he graduated from Traynor’s Police Academy in Massillon in Spring 1995. He also served as a full-time deputy at the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office and he was a full-time officer at Creston. He has been with the Dalton Police Department for 21 years and for many of those years he served as a task force officer with the U.S. Marshals Service. When the U.S. Marshals started a new unit focusing on missing children, he and his partner from the fugitive task force were assigned to the unit and also trained people from other states for their missing and exploited children programs.
McFarren calls himself an “old soul.” He said he remembers spending a lot of time with his grandparents and their friends growing up. It was a different time as a youngster when his grandma may ask him to go to someone’s house and hang up laundry or ride along Wenger to someone’s house to mow their lawn.

“All those houses were unlocked,” he said. “A lot of that has changed, but the core of the community is still the same. There are still the great people. The people who helped to raise me in the community – the Frantz family, the Bergs, the Blossers – all of these families involved in my life all of that tradition is still here. I like being here because of it. … The parents here are still teaching their kids good things. Plus, my family is from here and it makes me want to work harder to do a good job.”

Council approved a new cruiser for the village at an earlier meeting and also approved to extend a contract to Dalton Local Schools for a school resource officer. McFarren said he will be careful and frugal with the budget. Other than the new cruiser, the police station has a pick-up truck with a lease kindly paid for by the dealership, and 2017 and 2019 vehicles. The 2019 vehicle belonged to a former K-9 unit so it needs to be revamped. He plans to pursue hiring a full-time officer to replace his position of captain and by the end of the year he would like to see another full-time officer and a couple part-time officers.

Over the years in Dalton, accidents have dropped considerably, he said. He credits having a police cruiser at the gas station from time to time and being on U.S. 30. He estimates a 70 percent drop in the number of accidents. He also credits improvements to traffic signals at U.S. 30 and state Route 94.

What McFarren has seen a rise in unfortunately over recent years has been mental health issues. McFarren stresses the importance of police officers having Crisis Intervention Training. One of the things he would like to get started is an outreach program for mental health. He has people in mind he would like to serve on a board and agencies he would like to work with. McFarren has been known for connecting people with services and he’s still learning about what is available, he said.

“I want to be part of the solution,” he said. “I think there are some things we can do to help.”

Also known for being active in the community and interacting with residents, McFarren said he would like to set up a fun family event possibly this year or next. He would like to organize a parent and child fishing tournament as a fun event to help bring families and the community together.

McFarren has a wife and two grown sons and his parents are well-known in the community. He also mentioned his brother, Zach, who is principal at the high school.

“I come from a family that I always feel like there are big shoes to fill,” he said. “I don’t try to fill them. I just try to carry them with me. They’re hard to fill so I’m not going to even try.”

McFarren said he also hopes to give the police station a bit of a facelift and some people have come forward who want to help with funding.

“I’m so grateful for this community,” McFarren said. “I won’t make everybody happy with all my decisions. I understand you can’t make everyone happy but I’ll give it my very best. They still know how to get a hold of me. We’re still all family and friends.”