SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. (KFSM) — The new Siloam Springs Police Chief has officially been on the job for about five days and he’s already facing one of his first tests with a round of severe weather.
Police Chief Allan Gilbert was in the weather center at the Siloam Springs police department preparing for the onslaught of severe weather.
He moved here from Tupelo, Mississippi and says he’s no stranger to these conditions.
“My second year being deputy chief of tupelo we were hit with a five tornado that came through tupelo. So, yes I’ve had experience in so we’re trying to plan,” Gilbert said.
He’s hands-on in his first week helping to monitor the severe weather threat.
“We’re always going to prepare for the worst and hope for the best,” Gilbert said.
The chief says they’ve already got a plan in place and someone will be tracking the storms around the clock ready to warn the community if the weather gets bad.
“We can control it manually, we can also activate our outdoor notification system remotely, but we do have an auto alert system,” said Derek Spicer, Captain Siloam Springs Police Department
Gilbert has almost 30 years of experience in law enforcement including work with the FBI.
“What I know so far is we have some phenomenal officers and staff and it’s just getting to know them and see what we’re doing and getting use to everything and once we evaluate to see what changes need to be made to make us better,” Gilbert said.
Gilbert says he wants to let people know he’s very approachable and wants to be a part of this community and he and his family are excited to be here.
