Officers Mattingly, Gillock promoted during pinning ceremony at city hall

By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio

Michelle Mattingly pins captain bars on her husband’s collar Sunday in a private ceremony at City Hall. Click to enlarge.

Sunday, April 24, 2016, 1 p.m. — At a private pinning ceremony at City Hall Sunday, Bardstown Police Officer Brad Gillock and Detective McKenzie Mattingly received their new bars representing their promotions to lieutenant and captain, respectively.

The officers’ wifes — Darcy Gillock and Michelle Mattingly — each took a turn pinning the new bars on their husbands’ collars.

“After looking at every officer in the City of Bardstown, I couldn’t have picked two finer young men to lead this department,” Mayor John Royalty said. “These officers know the direction the department needs to go.”

As captain, Mattingly will serve as assistant police chief and interim police chief until a new chief is hired. Gillock will continue his role in firearms training, Royalty said.

The promotions are part of the department’s restructuring plan that led to the ongoing controversy that leaves three officers retiring from the department, including its chief.

Darcy Gillock pins lieutenant bars on her husband’s collar in a private ceremony Sunday at Bardstown City Hall. Click to enlarge.

Another part of the restructuring is creation of four sergeant positions which will serve as the senior officers on the street during each shift. Currently the most senior officers on a given shift is deemed to be the “officer in charge” (OIC). The sergeant positions will replace the use of OICs.

Mattingly said he is planning to have those filled by June 1. Officers interested in those positions are asked to submit letters of interest in the positions. The final deadline for those letters is Friday, April 29.

As far as replacing Chief Rick McCubbin, who plans to retired next month, Royalty said the search for a new chief will include an initial vetting process conducted by the Kentucky League of Cities (KLC). Once that process is complete, the KLC will forward their top three of four candidates to the mayor.

Mattingly said one of his first goals is to unify the department in the wake of the current controversy.

“This controversy will pass,” Mattingly said. “It doesn’t matter who is leading the department, the Bardstown Police Department will still be here and the men and women will still be provided professional services.”

Mattingly also said the department will need to hire additional officers to replace those who are retiring.

Mattingly, who has served for years on the Greater Hardin County Narcotics Task Force, said he considers the department’s participation with the task force very important. Once the department is back to sufficient strength, the task force position will be filled, he said.

Maj. Ray Lewis is still assistant chief until his retirement later this week, though no one will be assigned his rank once he retires.

Mattingly will serve as interim police chief after McCubbin retires. Mattingly said he doesn’t anticipate changes to the department’s current staffing allocation, but plans to analyze the calls for service to make sure sufficient officers are on the streets when needed the most.

Gillock has been on the force for nearly three years, while Mattingly is in the sixth year of his second stint with the department.

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