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Hot Springs council creates police investigator post and hires Brandon Peterson
Summary
The City Council approved a resolution creating a Hot Springs Police Department investigator position and immediately appointed Brandon Peterson to the role; Police Chief Ross Norton told council the department has the workload to justify a designated investigator.
The Hot Springs City Council on Thursday approved Resolution 2026-20 to create a police investigator position and voted to appoint Brandon Peterson as a full-time investigator.
Police Chief Ross Norton told the council the department has handled higher-level felony investigations without a formal title and said formalizing the role will improve case flow. "He's basically been doing this, you know, since he's been here, without the title and I believe he's earned that title," Norton said, explaining the recommendation to create the position.
The council heard Norton outline investigative workload: "So far from here, we're at 3,041 total calls for service," he said during his quarterly update, and noted the department currently has 16 active felony cases under investigation. Norton said the department is an eight-officer agency and that assigning a dedicated investigator will create a more cohesive workflow for cases sent to prosecution.
Council members said the proposal had been vetted through the administration and through the finance committee; the resolution passed on a voice vote. Immediately after approving the resolution, council approved a motion to hire Brandon Peterson as a full-time police investigator starting at 32 hours per week, effective as stated in the motion.
The action is now part of the city's personnel roster and was recommended by the city's administrative finance committee. No dollar amount for the new position's budgetary impact was presented during the motion; council materials indicate the item went through admin finance prior to the meeting.
The council's vote follows the department's quarterly report and will be implemented by city personnel staff and included in the next personnel payroll cycle.
