The Muscatine Police Department announced that Assistant Chief Phil Sargent retired as a member of the department on January 9, 2021, after 31 years of service in the Muscatine community.
Sargent joined the Muscatine Police Department in 1989. He rose through the ranks as a Corporal, Sergeant, Lieutenant, and Assistant Chief.
He attended the FBI National Academy in 2002, and has since been an active member of the Iowa Chapter of the FBINAA.
Sargent also led the effort to receive accreditation from the Commission on the Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, that was first achieved in 2000 and maintained over the years. The Muscatine Police Department is the longest standing accredited agency in the State of Iowa.
He also served as a board member of the Muscatine Police Officers Association for many years, and continued the charitable efforts of the organization, including the annual Shop with a Cop program that helped brighten the holidays for children of the community.
Following Sargent’s retirement, Muscatine Police Chief announced several promotions:
- Steve Snider was promoted from Captain of Patrol to Assistant Police Chief.
- Tony Kies was promoted from Lieutenant of Investigations to Captain of Patrol.
- David O’Connor was promoted to Lieutenant of Investigations.
- Vince Motto was promoted to Lieutenant of Patrol after serving as Sergeant in charge of Commission on the Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) and the Automated Traffic Enforcement (ATE) Program.
- John Hesseling was promoted from Detective to Administrative Sergeant in charge of the local CALEA and ATE programs.
