I am a retired law enforcement and public safety professional with extensive leadership experience in various roles within the Tennessee Dept. of Safety and Homeland Security and the Memphis Police Dept.

I was born in Borger, Texas (passing through) in October 1951 and raised in Memphis, Tn. Upon graduating from Catholic High School for Boys in 1969 I enlisted into the US Marine Corps and served honorably for 2 years and was meritoriously promoted to E-4 and served with the 1st Marine Division DaNang Vietnam.

Upon my return I joined the ranks of the Memphis Police Department and worked initially as a deep undercover narcotics agent. I served in multiple divisions throughout my career including instructor at the Police Academy, Uniform Patrol, Tactical Unit, Homicide, Bomb and Crime Response unit to name a few. I advanced through the ranks to the Director of Police Services from 2004 to 2011.

I hold a Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from Liberty University and have completed executive training at the FBI National Executive Institute.

Upon my retirement after 38 years from the Memphis Police Department I served as the Deputy Commissioner of Safety for the State of Tennessee under Governor Bill Haslam where I managed IT, Internal Affairs, Human Resources, audits and facilities, and oversaw the Tennessee Highway Patrol, Homeland Security and Driver Services. After a 5 ½ year tenure with the State of Tennessee I was able to retire here to Tellico Village where we have been property owners since 1993.

I was married to my wife, Nina, in 1972 and we have 3 wonderful children and 9 grandchildren. We are members of St. Thomas Catholic Church.

My most affective role was my leadership as the Director of the Memphis Police Department. During that time, I managed multiple divisions and maintained strong community relations. I feel that my leadership significantly influenced public safety and community trust in Memphis. My role allowed me to implement strategic initiatives utilizing analytics to reduce crime. I manage a budget in excess of two hundred million and showed a surplus each year. I reported directly to the Mayor and briefed city leadership on safety matters and earn the trust and confidence from my officers and customers-the citizens of Memphis.