Meet South Haven’s new police chief, Dennis Honholt.

Honholt, who previously served as the Chief of Police in Dover, Tennessee, expressed a strong desire to return to his home state and make a positive impact in the community.

“After the better part of two decades out of state, I’ve got one of my children live here, my grandchildren, I still have siblings here and that coupled with the fact that the department that I was leaving has gotten to a point where I feel it’s mission accomplished,” Honholt says. “I’m not somebody that likes to retire on duty. I like to be busy. I like to have something to work on. Collectively, my wife and I felt like it was time to come back home.”

In his first 15 days in the new position, Honholt has experienced nothing but a warm welcome. He is grateful for this opportunity and aims to continue to better the police department in South Haven into a positive force within the community.

“The first thing that I would really like to do is to take what’s great and make it even better,” Honholt says. “You know, take the good and build on it. Secondly, I think at this point in life, for me personally, is we’ve got a good amount of younger officers here, and [younger officers] are a huge asset. I want to build that motivation, that training.”

Honholt was officially sworn in on April 1. There will be a ceremonial swearing at an upcoming city council meeting, which will be announced at a later date.