Semmes Names Police Chief, to Hire Officers

Todd Freind, who will become the city’s first police chief on June 7, intends to hire 15-20 officers over the next year and a half, Call News reported. Freind’s law enforcement experience includes five years with the Mobile Police Department and 22 years with the Mobile County Sheriff ’s Office, which will continue to police the Semmes city limits and police jurisdiction until the new officers are hired and assigned. “I was able to create everything from the ground up, with everything from squad names to unit numbers and everything of that nature, and to be able to run that was a great pleasure for me and [helped me get] to know the community even better. We want as many [officers] as we can get,” Freind said. He added, “You have to use a mixture of all styles of policing in order to get the job done. You can’t be too autocratic, and you can’t be too laissez-faire, so you have to kind of meet in the middle. Each circumstance itself presents different results.” The city previously purchased the old Dollar General building on Lott Road for use as its public safety building to house the police and fire departments.