By Karen Gleason
City council members on Tuesday confirmed the appointment of former Greenville, Texas, police chief Daniel J. Busken as the interim chief of the Del Rio Police Department.
Busken is being contracted for the interim chief position through an agreement between the city and Strategic Government Resources (SGR).
The police chief position became vacant last week with the retirement of former chief Fred Knoll Jr.
Busken, who began his law enforcement career in 1983, served as the chief of the Greenville Police Department from September 2010 to February 2019, chief of the Madison, Alabama, Police Department from February 2000 to February 2009 and chief of the Crystal City, Missouri, Police Department from January 1993 to January 2000.
Busken parted ways with the city of Greenville in February 2019 following an eight-month-long medical leave of absence, according to a story published in the Feb.11, 2019 edition of the Greenville Herald-Banner.
Greenville city officials at the time refused to comment to the newspaper on Busken’s departure as police chief, and in November 2019, a Daniel Busken filed an age discrimination lawsuit against the city of Greenville, which is ongoing. The 830 Times could not independently verify whether the former chief was the person who filed the lawsuit.
Since his departure as Greenville police chief, Busken also served as interim police chief for the Argyle, Texas, Police Department.
Mayor Bruno “Ralphy” Lozano made the motion during Tuesday’s meeting to approve the resolution confirming Busken’s appointment, with Councilman Steven Webb giving the second.
When the mayor asked if Webb had any additional comments or questions, Webb asked a representative of SGR to describe how the company found Busken.
“Could you tell us a little bit about what your company does and how you went about finding this individual?” Webb asked.
Wendle Medford, senior managing director, interim services and consulting for SGR, a company based in Keller, Texas, near Dallas-Ft. Worth, told the council SGR is the nation’s second-largest executive recruitment firm and spoke about the hiring process.
“We’re the nation’s third-largest interim placement services firm, with over 20 years of public sector experience,” Medford said, noting the company recently placed an interim police chief for the city of New Braunfels.
“We have a pretty extensive pool on the interim side, probably 500-plus individuals. We go through a thorough vetting process. You have to have a stellar background in performance and exemplify the servant leadership qualities that we look for,” Medford told the council.
He noted Busken did a previous assignment for the company, serving as interim chief for the Argyle, Texas, Police Department in 2019.
“We feel that he’ll do a great job for the city of Del Rio,” Medford said.
Webb said he spoke with Busken earlier Tuesday.
“I believe that the qualities we’re looking for are in this particular candidate. He has a very good working knowledge of leadership, management, budgets. You name it, he’s got some kind of a background in it. I think he would be a big asset for the department right now. They need somebody with leadership skills that can help resolve problems and be fair at the same time, and I believe he can do that,” Webb said.
When the mayor asked for additional comments from council members, Councilman J.P. Sanchez said, “No, I don’t think he’s anybody’s compadre or anything, is he?”
Councilman Jim De Reus asked how long Busken is expected to serve as interim chief.
“Until the position is filled permanently,” City Manager Matt Wojnowski replied.
Mayor Pro-tem Alfredo “Fred” Carranza Jr. asked the city manager when the new chief would start.
Wojnowski said Busken would likely start his new position on Thursday.
The council unanimously approved the mayor’s motion.
