O'FALLON, Ill. (AP) -
The longtime police chief in the southwestern Illinois community of O'Fallon has died after a four-year cancer fight.
Police Capt. Jeff Wild says John Betten died Sunday afternoon at the chief's home. Betten's age was not immediately available.
Wild tells The Associated Press that Betten was a "hard-working man who cared about this community and cared about his family even more." Wild adds that even despite the chief's illness, Betten continued working and "never let the cancer define the type of man he was."
Before taking over the helm of the O'Fallon police force a decade ago, Betten spent 18 years working for the Fairview Heights Police Department.
Funeral arrangements are pending with Kassly Mortuary in Fairview Heights.
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