JASPER, Texas — The Jasper City Council has chosen a new police chief.
Lieutenant Garrett Foster was chosen a the next Chief of Police by the Jasper City Council by a vote of 4-0 with one council member not voting.
Just before the vote was announced, District One council member Marcus Barber left without voting. Barber told 12News that he didn't agree that Foster was the best fit for the job.
Foster has spent 20 years as a police officer, he hopes his new ideas will make a difference.
Foster tells 12News that he feels wonderful and blessed that city leaders would trust him to lead the police department. He wants to work on more transparency and communication between officers and residents.
"My main goal is to build and strengthen the community and the department. The trust between the community and department build that relationship between them, being open honest, accountability, transparent and everything," Foster said.
Council members had narrowed the search down to three candidates, interim chief Mike Poindexter, Lieutenant Joshua Hadnot and Foster.
Mayor Land says all three candidates were good, but he believes the four council members who voted for Foster were influenced. He says the transition would have been smoother if Poindexter was appointed chief.
However, he did have this to say,
"I cant have feelings. I just have to make sure, in my opinion, what I have to do is make sure we keep this city together, whoever that council voted on. I didn't have a vote," Mayor Land said.