Police chief finalists meet with community members
EDIE ZUVANICH | Special to the Press
Residents got a chance to question the four top candidates for the open Taylor police chief slot during two meet-and-greet sessions this past week.
Managing Director of Administration LaShon Gros said surveys filled out by residents, attendees at the meeting and city stakeholders will be compiled and evaluated within a few weeks.
A timeline has not been given for naming a finalist.
“We have a really good candidates that bring different types of experiences and different backgrounds. So it’s just a choice of what’s the best fit for Taylor’s needs,” Gros said during Wednesday’s event at the Taylor Public Library, 801 Vance St.
A second session was Thursday at the Dickey-Givens Community Center, 1510 E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
The four candidates — Joseph Chacon, Joseph Branson, Albert Garcia and Johnny Siemens — all have extensive police experience.
Branson is the interim Taylor police chief, taking over after Henry Fluck stepped down last fall.
The four told listeners they are committed to the community-policing model, which relies on partnerships between the Police Department and the community to help shape policy.
“It’s a lot of work for the (Police Department), but it pays off dividends when you’re able to develop a good working relationship with community members,” Garcia said. “To me, that is where the magic is. That’s where we can all make a combined effort to make sure we are providing great policing across the entire city of Taylor.”
Garcia was the police chief in Levelland from 2017-24 and today is the dean of technical education at South Plains College in the same city.
Siemens, a 14-year law-enforcement veteran, said he focuses on being personally engaged with the community in his job as Universal City police chief. He also worked for the Boerne Police Department.
He arrived early in Taylor before the panel discussions and spent several hours visiting local businesses and churches, even talking to people in the park about what they want from a top cop, he said. “We get our policing authority from the community we serve. Without the community support, we don’t exist. We don’t have any legitimacy,” Siemens said.
Chacon agreed that it’s important to be in touch with the community.
He spent 25 years with the Austin Police Department and was chief from 2021-23. Today he is the emergency services director for Pflugerville.
“It’s very important that the Police Department serves the community in the way it wants to be served. It’s important that everybody who lives here or works here or spends time in Taylor has a voice,” he said. “I want to be approachable to the citizens of Taylor. I want the people to understand that they can step forward because I’m listening to every single person and letting that feedback drive the mission.”
Branson, who has been involved in policing for more than 25 years, has served 20 years in the Taylor Police Department.
He commanded the support services division for a decade before being named interim police chief when Fluck retired in September.
If selected to permanently fill the role, Branson said he would build on many of the community-policing efforts already started. Foremost would be strengthening ties with students.
“I’d like to get the students and our officers more familiar with each other and have more events where they can gain an understanding both ways. There’s a lot going on in our country,” Branson said. “There’s fear of police. And I think familiarization with our people in uniform can only strengthen and help that situation.”
The candidate search was conducted by Affion Public, the firm responsible for locating several of the city’s current administrators including City Manager Brian LaBorde, Chief Finance Officer Robert Powers and Development Services Director Martin Griggs.
The city signed a $28,000 contract with the firm to conduct the police chief search.
The final say-so on any hire is eventually the decision of the City Council.
