FELLSMERE — The Fellsmere City Council welcomed new Police Chief Keith Touchberry and officially swore him to service during the regular meeting Thursday night.
“This is absolutely just a joyous occasion,” Chief Touchberry said after the ceremony, during which Mayor Susan Adams pinned the Chief’s badge to his uniform, teasing that she had pricked him.
Chief Touchberry addressed the nearly-standing room only crowd consisting mostly of Vero Beach and Fellsmere police officers. Touchberry is a now-former Captain of the Vero Beach Police Department, having served under Chiefs Jim Gabbard, Don Dappen and David Currey.
He said his career-long goal has been to serve as a Chief of Police. The opportunity to do so arose last month when Fellsmere Police Chief Scott Melanson retired.
“I can’t think of a better community to fulfill that goal in,” Chief Touchberry said of taking the post in Fellsmere.
He and his family have been residents of the Fellsmere area for the last 11 years.
“I so look forward to serving the citizens of this community,” he said, adding that he is also looking forward to getting to know his officers, talking with them and riding along with them.
“I’m impressed,” Chief Touchberry said of the officers’ morale and the things they would like to accomplish.
“We’re going to move things forward,” he said, “and it’s going to be together.”
Already, Chief Touchberry has brought the Fellsmere Police Department into the social media age by establishing a Twitter account. That account, @FellsmerePD, currently has a little more than a dozen followers.
Another project Chief Touchberry is expected to tackle is that of establishing a Neighborhood Watch Program in the community, at the behest of Councilwoman Sara Savage.
“I was really tickled to death to hear you were coming,” Savage told the chief.
