For more than 22 years, Chuck Tallent dedicated his life to protecting and serving residents of Saline County as a law enforcement officer with the Sheriff’s Office.
In August 2002, the sergeant turned in his department issued 0.40-caliber Glock handgun with the expectation of receiving it later in a retirement ceremony, just as other officers had before him. For seven years, he waited for that day to come while he watched officers after him receive their handguns shortly after announcing their retirement.
“I had so many people trying to get me my gun ... so many have tried to help me,” Tallent said. “Sheriff Phil Mask and I just didn’t agree with the way the old hands were being treated ...for some reason he just wouldn’t let me get my gun despite [Chief Deputy] Bill Field, [County] Judge Lanny Fite and others trying to help me.”
Mask was the fifth sheriff Tallent served under since joining the department in May 1980.
Soon after Mask took office in 2001, Tallent said he saw “the writing on the wall.” He said after discussing it with his wife, Buffy, who worked in the Saline County jail, he decided to retire at the age of 56.
Chuck Tallent said most law enforcement officers retire after 20 years in the field, but it was hard for him because he felt he still had good years left to serve. Buffy Tallent, out of respect for her husband, said she retired as well.
“I was sad to leave law enforcement, but not the way I saw the department being run,” Chuck Tallent said. “If [newly elected] Sheriff Bruce Pennington was the sheriff then, I would probably still be here. If I was able to I would even think about getting back into it, but I’ll let the young guys handle it.”
Instead he began working for a utility supply company, HD Supply. He said he traveled around Arkansas and bordering states, but in 2007, he was diagnosed with lung cancer.
“That September I had surgery and they took a lung,” he said. “I was not able to work like I used to anymore.”
Buffy Tallent said he is not cancer free, but “nothing new has shown up” and he has learned to enjoy retirement a little more. From spending time with his grandbaby from daughter Nichole or fishing with his son, Dakota, he was enjoying life.
There was something missing however, he said.
“If I just wanted a gun, I would have gone out and bought one,” he said. “It meant everything to me, it was with me all those years. And there was some personal feelings to see everyone else get their gun. For me to retire and not get mine ... especially being the first person to put in time after their retirement time [20 years] ... it was hard.”
Chuck Tallent said in 1980 there were 11 people in the entire sheriff’s department and often he was the only officer patrol;ing the county. Today, the department has 85 people in the department.
“Back then if I needed back up, I would have to wait up to half an hour,” he said. “Now, you can get back up within 15 minutes and when every minute can seem like an eternity, that is a big difference. And if there was someone patrolling with me when I first started, it was usually a reserved officer.”
Because of his dedication to serve the community, Field began pushing for Tallent’s gun to be given to him after Pennington took office on Jan. 1.
“He typified fine southern law enforcement,” Field said. “He served this community for 22 years, at the least, he deserves his weapon for it.”
During that time, Tallent said he also spoke with Pennington at a function in Haskell. Tallent said Pennington told him that he deserved his gun and he would get to work on it.
Late January, Field called Tallent to his office and said he was going to get his gun back. Field said he could see that a tremendous weight was lifted off Tallent’s shoulders.
“There was just so much joy and relief,” Tallent said. “I couldn’t wait to get home and tell my wife.”
On Friday, Feb. 6, surrounded by new and old law enforcement officers all over central Arkansas, the department issued 0.40-caliber Glock handgun was reunited with his partner.
“You don’t know what this means to me,” Tallent told Pennington and crowd. “This means everything to me and I appreciate it so much. It is a wonderful day.”
His wife said, “It was a long time for him to receive his gun. But it’s worth it. It means even more to him now.”
Chuck Tallent said for now he is going to keep his gun in a safe place, but he surprised his son with the news that he wanted Dakota to someday inherit the gun.
Inheriting the gun means more to him than anything else in the world, Buffy Tallent said.
“This is something you look forward to when you retire and you expect it,” Chuck Tallent said of his gun. “You carry it with you every day and it becomes a part of you.”
After thanking all the officers that attended the ceremony, he requested a message to be sent to residents and visitors of Saline County.
“Sometimes people think law enforcement officers are callous or cold,” he said. “I want people to know that an officer has to be that way to do their job. You can’t function if you are emotionally attached. You can’t let emotions happen when you are in a situation, because you are the last line of defense for the people.”
Field said not many, if any, officers were better at being under control of their emotions than Tallent. He also said Tallent was also skilled at calming others around him.
“I want to thank Chief Field, Sheriff Pennington, [Justice of the Peace] Doug Curtis, Judge Fite and others for everything they did for me,” Chuck Tallent said. “I want to thank them for seeing this as something I deserve and for doing it after all these years. There was a time when I thought I would never get it back, but I did thanks to them. It is a new atmosphere here — they make you feel comfortable, accepted and they are the most professional department I have ever seen here.”
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