Council Bluffs Police Chaplains

Lt. Dan Flores

Lt. Dan Flores is in charge of the Police Chaplains program for the Council Bluffs Police Department.

The purpose of the Council Bluffs Police Departments' Volunteer Chaplain Corps is to provide a ministry presence to law enforcement personnel, firefighting personnel, and members of their families in such areas of spiritual care and religious support.

The Council Bluffs Police Department's Chaplain program was first implemented in 1986 by former Police Chief Mark Moline. In 1987, the first volunteer chaplain, an ordained minister, began working with the Department. By 1992, the Department had five chaplains that formed the chaplain corps and the chaplains rotated on-call every six days. This core group of chaplains stayed active until 2003; but with pastoral transfers and retirements, the chaplain corps was reduced to only one active chaplain.

In May of 2009, under the direction of Police Chief Ralph O'Donnell and Captain Terry LeMaster, the chaplain program was given high priority to be reinstituted and the active recruitment of prospective chaplains began. This process resulted in the recruitment of seven ordained ministers who make up the volunteer chaplain corps. Each of the chaplains have received training on basic police procedures and also participate in regular ride-alongs with officers to better acquaint themselves with their police duties. Some of the chaplains have also attended critical incident stress management training and other on-going chaplain training involving other metro area and regional chaplain organizations.

The Department has provided each chaplain with a badge and wallet as well as a nylon windbreaker jacket that identifies themselves as a police chaplain. Our police union has also provided blue polo shirts and baseball type hats that identify them as police chaplains. The Department believes this attire helps to bring uniformity and professionalism to the chaplain corps. The chaplain corps rotates every seven days and are available for call-outs including emergency incidents.

If you would like to know more about the Council Bluffs Police Department Chaplain Corps, you may contact Lieutenant Daniel T. Flores, the chaplain liaison, at 712-328-4734.

Meet the Chaplains

Senior Chaplain L. Rockwell

Larry Rockwell joined the Council Bluffs Police Chaplain Corps in May 2009. He also serves as an Assistant Pastor at Community In Action Christian Fellowship in Council Bluffs and volunteers as a Children's Grief Counselor for Ted E. Bear Hollow. Pastor Rockwell trained and served as a Deacon and an Elder at East Side Christian Church for 15 years. He was ordained in 2007. He moved to Council Bluffs in 1990 and has volunteered in many areas of our community including area hospitals, American Cancer Society, Micah House Board of Directors, Council Bluffs Human Relations Commission, and as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA). He retired from the United States Air Force in 1986. He holds a B.S. Degree, Summa Cum Laude, in Computer and Information Systems, from Troy State University.

Chaplain A. Paff

Anthony David Portero Paff began serving as a Chaplain for the Council Bluffs Police Department in the early 1990's. He came to serve St. John's United Church of Christ in Council Bluffs in 1989. Ordained in 1983, he served churches in western North Dakota. A Master of Divinity graduate of the Pacific School of Religion in Berkley California, Tony received a master's degree in Spiritual Direction from Creighton University and a doctorate from Chicago Theological Seminary. Married to Maria Aurora, Tony and his wife have two children, a sixteen year old daughter and a twenty year old son. Tony is also fluent in Spanish. Tony has also served in the community as a hospital chaplain and president of the Council Bluffs Ministerial Association.

Chaplain D. Stuck

Dan Stuck joined the Council Bluffs Police Chaplain Corp in May of 2009. He is currently Sr. Pastor and founder of Community In Action Christian Fellowship, a non-denominational ministry that has a monthly outreach into the community. Pastor Dan is also the Chaplain at Maher-Livingston Funeral Home and is a member of the Council Bluffs Police Chiefs Citizens Advisory Board.

He began his ministry in Colorado Springs, Co. where he was a youth Pastor and school administer for a Christian Academy. 1988-92 served as Sr. Pastor in Grand Jct. Co. with Church of God. Dan has completed his ministerial studies through Messenger Collage with the PCG out of Joplin, Missouri. In 1992 he and his wife moved to Council Bluffs to be closer to his wife's family. Dan attended Victory Fellowship church for many years and served as associate Pastor and later as District Bishop.

Chaplain K. Sewing

Rev. Ken Sewing joined the Council Bluffs Police Chaplain Corp in July, 2009. He was first called to the ministry and ordained in 1979 and is an Evangelist in the Community of Christ Church. His home congregation is Central Congregation of the Community of Christ in Council Bluffs, but his responsibilities also include assisting in bringing Evangelist ministry in 26 Community of Christ congregations in Western Iowa, Eastern Nebraska and Southeastern South Dakota. In the past 30 years Rev. Sewing's assignments have included, youth ministry, home ministry, hospital visitation ministry, congregation pastor, administration, and adult education in addition to an emphasis on home and family ministry and missionary outreach. His current ministry, in addition to serving as a volunteer Police Chaplain, is focused on individual and family spiritual enrichment and growth. Rev. Sewing's father was a Council Bluffs police officer in the late 1930s and early 1940s. His son is a police officer in Missouri.

Chaplain J. McAlpin

Jon McAlpin has approached the CBPD Chaplain Corps from the opposite direction of his peers. Jon comes to us as an experienced critical incident stress debriefer and was a career firefighter and training instructor with the Omaha Fire Department, from which he retired in 2007 at the rank of captain. He then pursued his church ordination and now serves as assistant pastor at Community in Action Christian Fellowship in Council Bluffs.

Rev. Mr Jim Mason joined the Council Bluffs Police Chaplin Corp in March 2011. He was first called to ministy in 1998 and was ordained in August of 2001 as a Permanent Deacon for the Catholic Diocese of Des Moines. His home parish is St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Council Bluffs, and also served at St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Neola. In addition to his parish ministries, he has been affiliated with Birthright, Jail Ministy, and Inter Faith Response, all in Council Bluffs. He served in the U.S. Navy as a Hospital Corpsman, and retired in 2001 after working for Union Pacfic Railroad for 40 years. He and his wife Mary who is a Staff Chaplain at Bergen Mercy Hospital in Omaha have 5 children and 8 grandchildren.