T-R PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY Marshalltown Police Department Capt. Brian Batterson, center, is retiring Thursday after a 31-year career with the MPD. Also pictured are Police Chief Mike Tupper, left, and fellow Capt. Chris Jones.

When he walks out of the building for the final time as an employee on Thursday, Capt. Brian Batterson will leave the Marshalltown Police Department as its longest tenured officer, with 31 years under his belt and a lifetime’s worth of memories serving the community he has come to call home.

Batterson, a native of Rochester, Minn., said he decided to become a cop after taking a career placement test in high school, and the only reason Marshalltown originally came onto his radar was a simple one: a job was available. After applying with the Rochester Police Department and the Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office, he got the position in Iowa, and the rest, as they say, is history. He’s spent his entire career here and has served as a captain since 2007.

During his tenure, Batterson became known for his attention to detail in conducting investigations, and as Police Chief Mike Tupper explained, he led the way on several key initiatives including upgrading the records management and computer aided dispatch systems, updating policies and procedures and getting the new combined police/fire building constructed on South Second Street. At one time, he even led the SWAT team.

“Brian has been a blessing for the police department in so many ways. In the time that I’ve worked with Brian, he’s been the tip of the spear on so many important projects,” Tupper said. “He’s been involved with many high profile, very important investigations in our department, and we’ve relied on Brian heavily when it comes to investigative work and knowledge… He’s done almost everything that there is to do in this police department.”

Fellow Captain Chris Jones has worked with Batterson for all 26 of the years he’s been with the MPD (Jones started in 1996), and he’s seen him as a mentor from day one.

“Brian has been a great role model for me. I’ve always really looked up to him and a lot of the responsibilities that he’s had in the department,” Jones said. “As I kind of followed him through his career and saw the success that he was having, I tried to emulate and do the things that he projected. How we adjusted, or how I adjusted, was just kind of following his lead and seeing the things that he believed were important and doing the right things. That’s something Brian has always done.”

Although he’s never been one to waste his words or raise his voice, both Tupper and Jones said Batterson has commanded respect throughout his career due to his experience and his integrity as an officer.

“I think one of the reasons he doesn’t really have to say things now is because he’s said them before, and it’s all out there,” Jones said. “Having him as a resource has been a tremendous help to me in my position.”

Jones added that not having Batterson around any longer will be “interesting” for him as he becomes the lone captain for the time being, and he’ll also miss his colleague’s ability to correct him when he needs it. And for Tupper, Batterson was something like a walking historian of the police department.

“I don’t know how we’ll replace his institutional knowledge,” Tupper said. “I’m excited for Brian as he moves forward with his next adventure, but he has so much knowledge about our department and our community… When we’re trying to make decisions about what’s in the best interest of the community, that history’s important to us. I might bug him once in a while and give him a call even though he’s retired, but we’re going to miss Brian.”

As he looks forward to retirement, Batterson said he plans to “take it easy” for a while but will eventually start a new career of some kind. And if Tupper’s remarks are any indication, he may still see some familiar names popping up on his cell phone and asking for advice from time to time.

“He tells me what I need to know,” Tupper said. “Sometimes people, they want to tell the boss what they think the boss wants to hear. Brian is not afraid to tell me what I need to know. I’m going to miss that.”

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Contact Robert Maharry

at 641-753-6611 ext. 255

or rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.