BY KELLY GOOCH
kgooch@tylerpaper.com
Police lieutenant Jamie Campbell has been chosen as the new Rusk Police Department chief.
kgooch@tylerpaper.com
Police lieutenant Jamie Campbell has been chosen as the new Rusk Police Department chief.
Campbell, 44, was hired earlier this month, and his first day was Feb. 15. He had served as interim chief since former chief Joe Evans resigned in January to take a job as jail administrator with the Nacogdoches County Sheriff's Office.
"I was very happy and very pleased. I've been wanting to. Every officer wants to move up. That's one of the main goals when I went to work here was to be the chief one day," said Campbell, whose father is Cherokee County Sheriff James Campbell.
He added, "When I was born, I was brought home in a (Texas Department of Public Safety) car. Law enforcement's in my blood, and Rusk is my home and has been since I was 5 years old, and being the chief of police is just a good deal for me."
Campbell said he started as a patrolman with the Rusk Police Department in 2007 and worked his way up to lieutenant. Before that, he worked for the Rusk County Sheriff's Office as a narcotics investigator, served as a trooper for 10 years with DPS and worked for the Jacksonville Police Department as a patrolman.
Campbell said he is fortunate that Evans ran such a good department, which he described as a "well-oiled machine" at the time of Evans' departure.
"I wasn't going into a hornet's nest," he said. "We've got some good guys working here and some good people in Rusk."
He said his goal as chief is to serve residents and have a good and professional department. He plans to promote a department member to lieutenant but has not yet made that decision.
He added, "When I was born, I was brought home in a (Texas Department of Public Safety) car. Law enforcement's in my blood, and Rusk is my home and has been since I was 5 years old, and being the chief of police is just a good deal for me."
Campbell said he started as a patrolman with the Rusk Police Department in 2007 and worked his way up to lieutenant. Before that, he worked for the Rusk County Sheriff's Office as a narcotics investigator, served as a trooper for 10 years with DPS and worked for the Jacksonville Police Department as a patrolman.
Campbell said he is fortunate that Evans ran such a good department, which he described as a "well-oiled machine" at the time of Evans' departure.
"I wasn't going into a hornet's nest," he said. "We've got some good guys working here and some good people in Rusk."
He said his goal as chief is to serve residents and have a good and professional department. He plans to promote a department member to lieutenant but has not yet made that decision.
