The official newspaper of Prescott, the Prescott Journal, published new information on a subject this station first began covering in early August. According to statements credited to Interim Chief Funk in an article published Wednesday by reporter Sean Scallon, Officer Jason S. Hickok was hired in early July, weeks in advance of a July 31st closed door meeting and the August 7th pronouncement by the Police Commission for Officer Funk to have hiring authority. As we reported weeks ago, our conversation with Commissioner Bill Pryor contained his assertation that an eligibility list was one of the resources used to select qualified candidates that would be considered for hire by the Prescott Police Department. Today, KDWA will request documents that were used by Interim Chief Robert Funk in his determination that Officer Hickok met the standards of what Funk was quoted to have “deemed acceptable to hire”, despite the revolation that Hickok had faced charges of domestic battery, in an incident while a Barron County Sheriff’s deputy in 2014. KDWA will also request the criteria used to approve such hires including field training and background checking procedure. In a related issue, KDWA was mailed an anonymous letter, which arrived on Wednesday. The unknown writer, in fact, questions the existence of an eligibility list of law enforcement candidates that have been represented to have gone through necessary background or other vetting processes in preparation for approval for hire by the Prescott Police Department. In our interview with Police Commissioner Pryor he states there is such a list. We will ask the commission the current number of officers on that list, how many and what type of background checks are done, the cost incurred by the city for each report. Funk states in the newspaper article, that he conducted complete background checks, that he required Officer Hickok to complete an application and that the officer was “deemed acceptable to hire”.KDWA Radio News also extendeds the opportunity to news reporter Scallon, members of the Prescott Police Department , Police Commission or any representative of the city to engage in an on-air conversation concerning this story to further inform the public on this topic.
