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Avon’s police force has a new enlistee. Officer Theodore Smith took the Officer/Chief position October 30th of 2023. Officer Smith has ten years of experience in law enforcement. Prior to taking the position in Avon, he was working for the Winner City Jail as a transport officer. His experience and education in law enforcement is quite extensive. He has worked as the Deputy Sheriff for McPherson County and as a Reserve Police Officer for Sturgis. Smith also has a bachelor’s degree in history from Black Hills State University and an associate’s degree in Law Enforcement from Western Dakota Tech. What Officer Smith enjoys the most about being a part of law enforcement is being able to make a difference in the community. Two things that drew him to the law enforcement field were the first being that his grandfather was the Chief of Police for Sturgis many years ago and hearing his grandfather recount his stories and experiences really interested Smith. The second part that drew Smith to law enforcement was his experience and training in law enforcement while in the National Guard. Theodore has been a soldier with the National Guard for 20 years. Most of Officer Smith’s experience is within smaller law enforcement agencies, but he has been able to work some of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rallies which has given him valuable experience and perspective of working for a larger agency. Officer Smith is still getting a handle on his new position in a new town and area. It has to be quite an interesting experience being the lone officer of the police force. Smith’s experience in Avon has been a positive one with the community being very kind and welcoming. As of right now, Officer Smith does not have any set office hours. He is trying to rotate his time and schedule in order to maximize coverage of Avon. He is still trying to get a feel of what will work best and is needed in the Avon community. Smith’s job duties are like they would be in most small towns: enforce state and local laws, investigate crimes, investigate traffic accidents, and assist with the fire department and EMS. Having been an officer and part of smaller law enforcement agencies, Officer Smith sees the biggest issues that he will likely be dealing with in Avon as arguments between people and dog calls. A typical day for Officer Smith is spent with a lot of time patrolling neighborhoods. He patrols near the school when school is in session and when not patrolling, he is in his office handling paperwork. Officer Smith has lived all over South Dakota, but is originally from Belle Fourche. He has been married for the last 16 years and has two sons 21 and 14. His 14-year-old is currently a freshman at Winner High School. They will be relocating once his wife finds a different job in the Avon area. In his free time, Officer Smith enjoys camping, hunting and fishing. He also likes to collect and do target practice with old military firearms. Welcome to Avon, Officer Smith. Thank you for your service, and thank you for your willingness to take care of the Avon community.