Middletown’s new top cop
Name: Rodney Muterspaw
Age: 46
Years of Service: 24
Previous assignments: patrol officer, school resource officer, narcotics detective and supervisor, special operations sergeant, community oriented policing supervisor, criminal investigations lieutenant, deputy chief.
Salary: $94,149
Family: Married, three children
Middletown has a new police chief.
Maj. Rodney Muterspaw, a 24-year veteran of the Middletown Division of Police, was selected for the top job on Tuesday by City Manager Doug Adkins. The appointment is pending confirmation by City Council at its Feb. 17 meeting.
“Muterspaw’s relationship with the employees of the Division of Police as well as his strong ties to the community are great assets in moving the department forward and continuing the collaborative working environment with the residents of Middletown,” Adkins said.
He replaces former police chief David VanArsdale who was promoted Jan. 1 as the new public safety director to oversee both the police and fire divisions. Muterspaw’s annual salary as police chief has been set at $94,149.
“It’s humbling, very humbling,” Muterspaw said. “I’m grateful that the manager selected me to fix issues in the city and to bring the department together.”
Muterspaw, 46, is one of two deputy chiefs who were eligible for the job following an assessment center evaluation. Maj. Mark Hoffman, the other deputy chief, will become the assistant police chief as part of the city’s restructuring of the public safety department. Muterspaw said he and Hoffman’s skill sets compliment each other and that they work well together.
“I’m a huge believer in teamwork and working in team approach,” he said.
Muterspaw said the top item on the agenda is “to attack the heroin problem relentlessly.” He also wants to change the way of policing in the city and look at other methods to attack crime at its roots.
A graduate of Middletown Christian High School, Muterspaw also attended Cedarville University and is also a graduate of the Police Executive Leadership College and the Southern Police Institute.
A Middletown police officer since 1990, he has been a school resource officer, narcotics detective and supervisor, a Community Oriented Police supervisor, Special Operations sergeant and commanded the criminal investigations section.
Muterspaw is married and has three children.
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