SOUTH SIOUX CITY — Rod Koch recalls a chance encounter with Ed Mahon early in Mahon’s law enforcement career and long before Koch was South Sioux City’s mayor.
Koch was walking out of his apartment to his car when Mahon ran by chasing a suspect. Friends since high school, Koch asked Mahon how it was going.
Mahon remarked that the running was going to lead him to look for a new profession.
“Thankfully, he was saying that in jest,” said Koch, who still kids Mahon about the long-ago foot chase.
Mahon never followed through on that comment about searching for a new career. He stuck around, and, years later, Koch appointed him police chief.
Mahon will retire next month after more than 42 years with the South Sioux City Police Department.
“I never found any reason to leave or go anywhere else,” the South Sioux City native said.
Hired in September 1983 by then-chief Gene Claxton, Mahon initially thought working for the police department would be a temporary stop on his career path. His interest in law enforcement was piqued in college during a summer job with Nebraska Game & Parks in Bassett, where the local game warden asked for his help finding a turkey poacher.
“I was out looking for somebody doing something wrong, and it was kind of exciting,” Mahon said.
After graduating from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a wildlife and range management degree, Mahon accepted the job with the South Sioux City Police Department but envisioned a career chasing poachers down county roads rather than foot pursuits on city streets.
“I thought I’d probably be here two to three years and then try to be a game warden, and I just never left,” he said. “I never really wanted to go anywhere else.”
It was home, after all. And for someone who had enjoyed the teamwork needed to excel in band and football as a South Sioux City High School student, he found a similar environment on the police force.
Mahon was promoted to sergeant in 1990 and lieutenant in 2007. No matter his position, Mahon said, he enjoyed the daily interactions with residents and strived to provide honest service to the community. He kept that in mind after he was appointed chief in May 2016.
“I didn’t come in with any major goals to change things,” he said.
The changes have taken care of themselves.
Armed with a ticket book and single sheets for accident reports when he started, Mahon now looks at how technology such as in-car computers, body cameras, license plate cameras and much more has changed the way officers do their jobs.
The department itself has grown with the community, expanding from 14 officers to 28 in Mahon’s 42 years. As the city’s makeup has changed with the influx of immigrants from all over the world, so has the police force. The department has become more diverse, and Mahon said every job opening attracts applications from men and women with a variety of backgrounds.
Mahon also appreciates the cooperation the department has received from leaders of those various immigrant communities to help foster trust between them.
“We have a great community over here. By and large, our community is a great community,” Mahon said.
He has no immediate plans to leave, either. After clocking out for the last time on Oct. 24, Mahon said he’s got an old Jeep to finish restoring. He hopes to spend more time hunting and fishing and perhaps teach some classes. He also plans to spend more time with his grandchildren and be available for child care duty if needed.
Mahon won’t miss the seemingly endless schedule of meetings a police chief must attend, but he’ll miss the officers and his staff, who he said have made his job easier and enjoyable.
“I’m going to miss most of the people, and coming to work every morning was still fun,” he said.
Koch said Mahon has set a high standard for the next chief, who has yet to be chosen.
“I knew we were getting a high-quality person, highly ethical. He exceeded my expectations,” Koch said. “We’ll miss him as police chief.”
The two friends likely will still run into one another. Mahon spent his whole career serving his home town. No sense leaving now.
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Nick Hytrek
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