STAR CITY — Jessica Colebank followed her father, Glen Staley, into law enforcement.
Now he’s following her as the next chief of police in Star City.
Staley was officially sworn in Tuesday before Star City Town Council.
The father/daughter duo will share the role until June 1, when Colebank steps away on the third anniversary of her ascent to the chief position.
Colebank said she’s pretty confident the job is being left in capable hands – after all, Dad was her final field training officer before she took her first solo patrol with the Fairmont Police Department.
“I’ve made my career my own, but I always tell people that I learned everything from him. He’s just been a great officer. He’s got 46 years in law enforcement and he still loves the job, and that’s very rare – to have that long of a career and still be excited to go to work,” Colebank said. “I’ve had a great role model to look up to.”
Staley started his career in law enforcement in West Liberty, Iowa – a town similar in size to Star City – in 1978.
He served as chief at a couple stops in Iowa before the family headed east. He retired from the Fairmont department in 2016 as a sergeant. He retired from the Whitehall Police Department as a lieutenant in 2023.
While working full time in Marion County, Staley spent a couple years pulling part-time hours doing traffic enforcement in Star City. He even applied for the chief job at one point. When another officer was chosen, Staley went to Whitehall instead.
“When Jess announced that she was finishing up here, it seemed like a good time to try it again,” he said. “My goal is to get 50 years in law enforcement, and it’d be really cool to go out as chief at an agency the same size that I started in.”
Colebank is moving to the Washington, D.C., area with her very-soon-to-be husband – the couple is getting married this weekend after some 16 years together.
“Everybody’s like, ‘It’s about damn time,” Colebank laughed.
“I guess she’s done kicking the tires,” her father added of the couple. “He’s passed the test.”
Colebank plans to spend some time working on the dispatch end of the radio, just as she did prior to pinning on the badge.
“I was always very proud of her. I knew she’d do a really good job. She’s got a real sharp investigative mind, and I knew she would excel at that aspect of the job. She takes after her mother for that. Her mother was a police officer also,” Staley said when asked if he tried to steer his daughter away from law enforcement. “Wherever she ends up, she’ll be a big asset to whatever job or agency she goes to. She’s excelled at everything she’s done. She’s just a unique person.”
She’s also tough – something else that runs in the family.
Colebank – and both of her parents – were diagnosed with cancer in 2024.
“Before I was diagnosed, we were really making progress in the department. We got the grant for new cruisers. Overall, community relations had improved. Our crime rate dropped 8% since I took over. We were trending in the right direction,” Colebank said, later adding, “It’s been a hell of a year, but so far, so good. I finished radiation at the end of February and rang the bell. They said I was good.”
Colebank said she can never repay the community for the support she received following the diagnosis.
She feels better knowing who will be watching over that community in her stead.
“I’m very much like Jesse in that I’m not a sit-in-the-office chief. I wear a uniform. I go out and I work a shift. I’ll be working Monday through Thursday, day shift. I go out and patrol, work traffic, take calls and all that stuff,” Staley said. “For 47 years, I’ve been a road cop. That’s all I’ve ever wanted to do.”
