Jim Acker served as chief of Lincoln Police Department for 12 years and was a "great guy" to work for, said Russell Morphis, current Lincoln police chief.
Acker, 74, died Aug. 23 at Circle of Life Hospice in Springdale, after a lengthy battle with pancreatic cancer and cholangiocarcinoma. He was born July 9, 1941, in Checotah, Okla. He lived in the Prairie Grove area for more than 40 years.
Acker hired Morphis in 1998 and also hired two other officers in the department: Tony Lee, assistant police chief, and Cpl. Brian Key. Acker served as Lincoln police chief from 2000 to 2010 and also served as chief for two years prior to that.
In all, Acker had more than 45 years of law enforcement. In addition to working in Lincoln, Acker also worked as a patrol officer in Fayetteville Police Department and worked through the ranks of the Washington County Sheriff's Office to captain. In his earlier career, he also worked in Oklahoma.
"He was fair but demanding," Morphis said. "He didn't compromise and was a hard worker. Whether you were a rookie or a 10-year veteran, if you needed help in work or in life, he was always there."
Acker's daughter, Tonia Acker of Maumelle, said her father lived a wonderful life and was always helping someone.
"He just was a person who was there for a lot of people at times when they had no one else," Tonia Acker said.
She grew up in Washington County between Prairie Grove and Lincoln and said people from miles around would call her father many times instead of calling the sheriff's office, and he would go help.
She said he wanted to give back to his community, especially Lincoln, because he believed people helped him along the way.
Her parents moved to Arkansas around 1972 and Acker first worked for Fayetteville Police Department before going to the sheriff's office. At one point, he was full-time Lincoln police chief and working full-time for the sheriff's office. He then quit in Lincoln to stay with the sheriff's office. After he retired from the county in 1999, he returned as Lincoln police chief in 2000.
Tonia Acker said she believes her father loved law enforcement because of his experiences early in his career.
"As a young officer, he worked with older officers he really loved and respected. As he got older, he liked that mentoring of young officers himself," she said "Officers would call him all hours of the night to ask Daddy what to do. I think Daddy was in community policing before it really had a name. He knew everyone in the community. He liked that and wanted to pass it on."
She said she was comforted at her father's visitation and funeral service by many people who stopped her to tell stories about her dad or to say they would miss him.
"That says a lot more to me than anything, just to have regular people tell me about him," she added.
Acker was preceded in death by his wife of 39 years, Carol Louise Remington Acker. He had three children, five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
General News on 09/02/2015