May 18 was my day with “PCW.”
For over five years, I've covered Springfield City Council meetings for Springfield Business Journal, and to follow the action in my notes, I’ve developed a shorthand for each of the regulars. If City Manager Greg Burris is talking, he's GB in my notebook. Initials are common, but Mayor Bob Stephens is either M, for mayor, or RS for Robert Stephens.
Paul Williams, a still-new chief in town in November 2010 when I started regularly coming to meetings for SBJ, became PCW for Police Chief Williams, joining only Mary Mannix Decker and Mary Lilly Smith to have a three-letter shorthand.
When our editorial team mapped out our 2016 Day in the Life lineup, I knew very little about him beyond P, C and W. SBJ doesn't have a crime beat, so I wasn't even sure if I had interviewed him. Other council regulars – GB, MLS and RS – have answered phone calls the day after a meeting or sat down with me at their office. But beyond that he came from Tulsa six years ago, I didn't know PCW.
In setting up our interview, I talked to Paul at the tail end of the May 16 council meeting. He was leaving after speaking about a new plan to transport those arrested in the Queen City to Taney and Miller counties. That move was made possible by some last-minute budget money opening up, and it represented a rare instance in which Paul would become part of my council report.
KSPR already had grabbed him for an interview just outside of council doors, but he had a minute to talk before the camera was ready. We went over his schedule, and he explained the bit about his mom needing to go to the airport at 11 a.m. We talked for just a minute, and I was beginning to feel comfortable when I noticed GB poking his head out the door to politely tell the chief and I to move it down the hallway.
In over five years, I've seen groups leave the meeting and heard officers on duty direct them down the hall and away from the ongoing action, but I've never seen Greg leave his front-table seat to remind attendees a city meeting was still in progress. We instantly moved like kids in trouble at school, and I apologized to the chief for being loud. I told him I'd see him Wednesday morning and heard him mention to the KSPR team – which had smartly relocated down by the stairs – with a laugh in his voice that he had just gotten in trouble with his boss.
Somehow, in that two-minute conversation, I got a really quality snapshot of Paul Williams.
Accessible: Paul was quite comfortable talking to the media. He had a rapport with KSPR, and in two minutes, he had a rapport with me.
Organized: He had the day mapped out. While things could always change, he had a solid sense of what his calendar looked like.
Family focused: This was a theme that ran throughout our day. From talking about his dad and grandpa on the Detroit Police force, to his graduating daughter, to his mother flying home to Florida, it was easy to see where his personal priorities stood.
Flexible, efficient, confident and easygoing: The chief seemed pleased to kill two birds with one stone when we talked as the camera was getting set up. He appeared quickly responsive to his boss' request to move it and still somewhat laid back about the experience, and he could have been irritated at me or himself for playing a part in interrupting a meeting, but he quickly adjusted and moved on – joking about the incident seconds later.
On May 18, I saw him arrive right at 7 a.m. at Kingdom Coffee for the monthly Coffee with the Chief. I saw him comfortably speak with his commanders at the informal chat session, as well as a local defense attorney and the News-Leader beat reporter. I witnessed him running the 9 a.m. staff meeting, sticking closely to the agenda, alternating between pointed questions and easy smiles, depending on the topic. From his trip to the airport, to his afternoon meeting with Community Partnership of the Ozarks and United Way, the chief wore several different hats during his day, but he seemed perfectly at ease in each of them.
This is a rare quality. Also, it has since struck me, this was leadership demonstrated.
My favorite part of the day was getting the full tour of the downtown police station, where we saw the evidence room and minigym and heard about how sworn officers work with nonsworn staff. It was a glimpse into a world I knew little about. It was clear the chief had given the tour before, and when I asked him about it, he said he always gives new council members the same tour when they’re elected or appointed. Of course, that makes sense. And what a great idea.
Though it missed the story somehow, another moment that left an impression on me was when we talked at Kingdom Coffee about the intersection of business and policing – the common ground in our professions. I mentioned that it seemed council thought highly of him and was open to diverting as much excess revenue from the budget to policing needs.
“I think they get it. If you don't invest in public safety, you can't have economic development,” he said.
The chief appears to have a handle on both the small details and the big ones. I'm really glad he took the time and offered the space to bring a few of those things into focus for me.
Reporter’s Notebook
Below are a few pics of my day with the chief.
My favorite pic of the day: Paul laughs in a light moment with defense attorney James Hayes at Coffee with the Chief.
The chief then strikes a thoughtful posture when answering a News-Leader question about the SWAT operations.
At his morning staff meeting, Paul directs the action with department leaders.
Here is the police beat map. In all, 16 patrols cover the city. Cops are scheduled for four 10-hour shifts per week.
At the Community Partnership of the Ozarks board meeting, Paul hears details about community needs and talks for a minute about a plan to revive the Crime Stoppers program.
Wrapping up the work day at a United Way board meeting, Paul, a 27-year supporter of the nonprofit, introduces himself to new members and chimes in on a strategy to secure funding.
And then there's the selfie. Made popular by Features Editor Emily Letterman, no Day in the Life is complete without one. Thanks for indulging, PCW.
