Written by Ben Cox – “Very bittersweet” are the words used by Brownwood’s departing Chief of Police Terry Nichols to describe his emotions as he prepares for a move to Seguin.
Nichols, who started as chief just under three years ago for the Brownwood Police Department, says the only reason he was even remotely interested in moving away was to be closer to family. “I can’t pick up the kids and my wife’s parents and move them to Brownwood, that just can’t happen, so we have to go.”
Nichols says “The opportunity popped up to be closer to the kids. We (he and his wife) had already started talking about transitioning our lives back towards family and Seguin popped up so we thought if it works it works, and it did.”
Nichols father, who lives in Temple, is in his mid nineties and he and his sister “trade off every other weekend, that’s two weekends a month up there with him. So, if we wanted to go see the kids or her family, that’s a third weekend out of the month. So the move gets us back down to the majority of the time will be spent with the kids and her parents.”
He says there is no reason outside of a desire to be close to family for this move. “This is a complete geography issue. I love Brownwood. I love this community. The city, the council, Emily, the mayor, everybody! They’ve been great to me. I’ve even turned down jobs making more money, I just need to be closer to family.”
He says that over the course of his tenure with BPD, he is most proud of the partnerships with other local agencies that have strengthened while he has been here. “Everyone has always gotten along, but it was just ‘getting along’, I think we really established some critical partnerships with the tactical team, working really close with the Center for Life Resources, working really close with the sheriff’s office and Chief Mercer. I think that is key, establishing those joint relationships.”
He also is grateful for the working relationship the department has with the school system. “Working with Dr. Young and the team at the district. The training and partnering for the full scale exercises we run in the summer. Not a lot of communities do that. You’d be surprised, you step outside this community and they’re not doing the things we’re doing here.”
Nichols says of those full scale training events, “They are a complete group effort. It takes more than just me! It takes the sheriff, the fire chief, the superintendent, the principals, the hospital, it takes a lot of people coming together to do that to get the community prepared.”
When asked if there is anything he would like to say to the city of Brownwood, Chief Nichols says “the first thing that comes to mind is thank you. Thank you, period. Emily Crawford and the council gave me an opportunity to come and lead these men and women, to work shoulder to shoulder with them. They loaned me this badge, they loan each officer this badge for a period of time, to watch over this community and I am grateful for that opportunity.”
Nichols says the city is in the best hands when it comes to the officers of the Brownwood Police Department. “I want this community to understand, you may not realize what you have in your own backyard. You have some of the finest law enforcement officers out there. I’ve spent three years working side by side with them. There are detectives who work till 2 a.m. in the morning and then report for duty at 7 a.m. the next day. That is the kind of professionals you have here.”
He will remain in office until the 10th of April. The city is already accepting applications for the next chief of police.
Thank you for your service, Chief Nichols. You are appreciated and will be missed.
