Flomaton council votes unanimously to elevate an officer within as the town's new chief
Wilson
Johnny Wilson will simply move his office down the hall following Friday morning's special-called Flomaton Town Council meeting where he was unanimously approved as Flomaton's new police chief.
Wilson has been with the Flomaton Police Department since March, 2021.
"I feel it's a blessing and I'm honored to fill some big shoes with the former chief," Wilson said.
The town council began its search for a new police chief following the resignation of Chance Thompson, who is now employed with the Atmore Police Department. The council tapped Assistant Chief Bennie Stokes as the interim chief until Friday's council meeting.
Council members Charlie Reardon and Roger Adkinson were absent and Kay Wagner, Jim Johnson, Lillian Dean and Mayor Dewey Bondurant, Jr., unanimously approved Mayor Bondurant's recommendation to hire Wilson.
His appointment was immediate and Wilson announced he had named Dane NeSmith as his assistant chief.
"I ask for your patience," Wilson told the council. "I'm going into this blindfolded. Be patience with me. I will do the best I can do for you and the town."
"I'm human, I will makes some mistakes," Wilson added. "But the more classes I take the better I will be. We have a good force and I will lean on them and they will lean on me."
Wilson, 47, is a native of Molino and a 1993 graduate of Tate High School and graduated from Okalossa-Walton College's police academy in 1998.
He began his law enforcement career in 1999 at the DeFuniac Springs Police Department. He worked with the Milton Police Department from 2000 to 2001 and the Escambia County (Fla.) Sheriff's Office from 2001 to 2014.
In 2015 he joined the Escambia County (Ala.) Sheriff's Office and remained there until he joined the Flomaton Police Department in 2021.
