Sikeston DPS announces upcoming retirement of long-time officer | Community Spirit

SCOTT COUNTY, MO (KFVS) - The Sikeston Department of Public Safety says the upcoming retirement of a long-time DPS officer leads to promotional opportunities.

Captain Mark Crocker announced that he will conclude his service to the citizens of Sikeston this December.

Director of Public Safety Drew Juden said the City of Sikeston began a new concept in 1978 called “Sikeston Public Safety.” It was then the city chose to merge both police and fire services into one organization. He said the first three officers the city hired under this new concept were Mark Crocker, Dan Armour and him. Juden said they said goodbye to Capt. Dan Armour last year, when he decided to retire and now he must bid farewell to another friend. 

According to Juden, Capt. Crocker’s approaching retirement opens up some promotional opportunities to the fellow workers that he’s leaving behind. In the last several weeks, they have been undergoing a selection process for three supervisory positions because of this retirement. 

Juden said Jim McMillen was recently chosen to replace Crocker as our newest Captain. McMillen began his career with Sikeston in 1998. He has worked in various positions throughout the department since that time, most recently as the Detective Lieutenant over criminal investigations. He will be assigned as Captain over Patrol Division and Juden will be moving Capt. Mike Williams over Special Services (the position that Capt. Crocker currently holds). 

Andy Cooper was selected to replace McMillen as our newest Lieutenant. Cooper arrived at Sikeston DPS in 1996 has had an extensive amount of experience in his career. Over the years he has proven himself to be one of the more valuable supervisors at his level. Cooper will now be assigned to criminal investigations as the new Detective Lieutenant.

Lastly, Bethany McDermott was chosen to be the next Sergeant to fill the void that Cooper’s promotion leaves.  McDermott began her career in Sikeston in 2004 and has proven herself to be hardworking and devoted. Over the last few years Bethany has been assigned as a detective while also having the dual role of evidence custodian. McDermott will be assigned as a Sergeant in patrol or fire division depending on the department’s current need.  

Juden said in closing, he wants to say that he has the utmost confidence in each of their abilities and wish them success in their new position. He also said they will all miss Mark; he has been a loyal friend and colleague to both the department and the citizens of Sikeston.

According to Juden, next month they will talk about Mark Crocker's career in more detail, as they draw closer to his actual retirement date.

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