La Center Police Chief Marc Denney will step down later this month.
Denney, who has been the city’s police chief since 2013, recently accepted the police chief job in Burlington, Iowa. His departure is effective Jan. 29, according to a city news release.
Before Denney’s hiring at age 45, he worked as the patrol commander in the Cochise County, Ariz., Sheriff’s Office. He played a key role in organizing an interagency narcotics task force and was a member of the six-person border patrol team for the county, which shares an 83-mile border with Mexico.
Denney impressed La Center’s hiring committee with his “dynamic personality,” then-La Center Mayor Jim Irish told The Columbian at the time. He replaced longtime Police Chief Tim Hopkin.
Denney will move from La Center, a city of 3,219 people according to the most recent U.S. Census Bureau estimates, to Burlington, a city of 24,974 people.
La Center expects to hire an interim chief from within the state, according to the news release. A ceremony for Denney is expected to take place at an upcoming city council meeting, which will be held virtually.
