Kenneth City hires police chief

KENNETH CITY — Residents have a new police chief, ending a search to fill the post that has been open more than a year.

Kevin Riley, a longtime Pinellas Park police officer, will officially start on Oct. 26 making $78,500 a year plus a $450 per month health insurance stipend, said Town Manager Matthew Campbell. Riley has been interim chief since June.

Campbell said Riley fit because of his experience with community policing and ability to implement it in Kenneth City's 11-officer department.

"He did everything that I laid out in a plan for him to do when I brought him on as the interim chief," Campbell said. "I knew for a fact that Chief Riley was a change agent, and that's what I wanted for the department."

Riley has worked for Pinellas Park since 1989 as a detective, SWAT team commander and head of the community redevelopment policing unit, among other positions.