CENTERVILLE – It’s always been Tom Demry’s dream to be the Centerville Chief of Police. That dream became a reality after Dan Howington stepped down on Friday. The Centerville City Council named Demry the interim police chief, effective immediately.

“On an interim basis, we’ve appointed Tom Demry as acting chief. In the future we will be looking to fill that position permanently,” commented Centerville Mayor Marsha Mitchell.

According to Mitchell, Howington is taking a four-month leave of absence due to personal reasons.

Howington will return to the Centerville Police Force sometime in November as a sergeant.

Demry was born and raised in Centerville and has 15 total years of experience in several different facets of law enforcement.

Demry got his start in law enforcement at the age of 19 as one of the initial Centerville police reserves.

“I started as a police reserve officer while attending college,” stated Demry. “I was one of the initial police reserves when the program was started back in 1992-93. I wasn’t even old enough to buy my own gun. I had my dad buy a gun for me.”

Demry worked as a Wayne County Sheriff’s Deputy from 1993 to 2000 before returning to Appanoose County as a detective for the Centerville Police Department, where he worked for three years.

Demry made the switch to the Appanoose County Sheriff’s Office in 2003 as chief deputy, working under Sheriff Gary Anderson until 2006.

Demry took a year off from law enforcement before returning as a patrolman for the Centerville Police Department nearly one year ago.

“I took a year off to help my dad with the auction business. I actually came back almost exactly one year ago. I think it was July 23,” said Demry.

With Howington on leave, the Centerville Police Force will have nine active officers, including Demry. Two of the nine are drug task force officers.

“Right now for scheduling purposes and to be able to cover shifts and honor vacation requests, I’m going to be covering the day shift along with the chief duties because we’re shorthanded,” said Demry. “That will allow us to have one guy on vacation or sick. Without that we’d be in a mess.”

The day shift starts at 6 a.m. and runs until 2 p.m. although Demry will probably be putting in extra hours.

“I’ll be here from 6 a.m. until I’m done. The shift is 6 a.m. - 2 p.m. but I’ll probably be here until 4 or 5 p.m. every day,” stated Demry.