Police Chief to Retire

The Chief of Police in Willow Springs will retire on May 27, 2022. Chief Bryan Hogan will end his career in law enforcement in Willow Springs where it began thirty-one years ago. 

A bout of COVID-19 took Chief Hogan off active duty in November 2020. After a two-month hospital stay that included two weeks on a ventilator, he took an extended leave of absence from the police department. 

“I’ve been stuck in the office since I’ve been back,” Chief Hogan said, “I was really lucky. I’ve been able to overcome most of it, but it has done some damage, and I can’t do certain things I could do before I got sick.”

His retirement is taking place a couple years earlier than the usual retirement age for police chiefs because his limitations from COVID are considered to be a line-of-duty injury, Hogan said.

Bryan Hogan began his career in law enforcement in 1991 as a reserve officer in the Willow Springs Police Department. He joined the department as a full-time officer in 1993. After working for a couple years in Branson, Hogan returned to the Ozarks and worked for “just shy of ten years” at the Mountain View Police Department. He returned to WSPD in 2005.

“I have enjoyed every moment of being the police chief,” he said, “I'll definitely miss it.”

Chief Hogan plans to remain in Willow Springs after his retirement. 

“I want to stay active in the community,” he said, “I see public service in the future. It’s all I’ve done, and I really do enjoy working in and with the community.”