Houston Police Department adds new officer

An experienced law enforcement officer recently joined the Houston Police Department: Bobby Willhite.

Willhite, 53, lives in the same house he grew up in about nine miles east of Hartville. He began duties with the HPD last week and is a veteran of 16 years in law enforcement.

Willhite is a graduate of Mountain Grove High School, and he and his wife of 31 years, Melissa, have two children: Dustin Willhite (who is a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper in Laclede County) and Melinda Polm (who runs the daycare operation at Cabool Second Baptist Church). The couple also has four grandchildren.

Willhite worked at the casket factory in Hartville for 18 years until it was shut down and moved to the country of Mexico in 2006. Thanks to a government funding and placement program (for employees of firms that move to Mexico), he ended up entering the Drury University Law Enforcement Academy.

After graduating from the Academy in 2008, Willhite began working at the Hartville Police Department. After about a year there, he moved over to the Wright County Sheriff’s Department, where he was a deputy for about two years and Chief Deputy for about seven years. In 2017, he returned to the Hartville Police Department and has been there until hooking up with Houston.

Like most law officers, Willhite enjoys the act of assisting the public.

“I like meeting people and helping them,” he said, “and I like knowing I’m in a field where there’s always somebody you can help. There are bad parts to it, but the best part is that there is always someone needing help.

“You don’t do this for the glory. There’s no glory in it, and the farther we go, the worse it gets. You’ve got to have a passion for it, or you won’t last.”

Even on his first day in Houston, Willhite heard about the community’s support for law officers.

“In talking to a lot of the guys, they’re really pleased with this community,” he said.

Willhite’s addition brings the HPD’s roster to nine full-time officers, as Lane Haley and AJ Rodts each departed within the past few months.

“Officer Willhite will be a great addition to the department, and he brings several years of experience,” said HPD Chief Brad Evans. He has been an officer for 16 years in Wright County and has a wide range of experience in many areas. We are happy to have officer Willhite coming on board and we believe he will be a great asset to our community, as he has a community-oriented mindset.”

Willhite is running for Wright County sheriff and will be on the ballot on Aug. 6.

“Of course, I was chief deputy over there for a number of years,” he said, “and being sheriff is something I wanted to do and I feel like God led me to do that. But I will give it 100-percent here if I don’t get it; I’ve always tried to give 100-percent everywhere I’m at.

“Somebody sort of whispered to me, ‘I secretly hope you don’t get it.’ But if I do, it was meant to be and if I don’t, I’m meant to be here. And I think I would be a good fit here; these are really good people.”

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