Candidate for Grapeland Police Chief Accepts Position

By Will Johnson                                                                                                                                                             Messenger Reporter

GRAPELAND – On Thursday, Sept. 1 the Grapeland City Council met in a called meeting to select a candidate to fill the position of Police Chief following the resignation of former Chief Kyle Duren last month.

After over two and a half hours in executive session the council re-convened the open part of the meeting and Mayor Balis Dailey asked for a motion from the council in regards to hiring a police chief.  A motion was made, seconded and unanimously approved to authorize the mayor to extend an offer for the position.

At the time, however, the person who was to be offered the position was not revealed. The three candidates who were interviewed Thursday night were: Richard Garner; Don Myers; and Larenzo Simpson.

Mayor Dailey indicated he hoped to have an answer by early Friday morning, Sept 2. The mayor was contacted on Friday afternoon and reported the candidate had been contacted and an offer had been extended. He added the candidate expressed a definite interest in the position, but had requested time to consider the offer.

Following the long Labor Day weekend, the mayor was contacted on Tuesday, Sept. 6 about the offer made to the police chief candidate. “Don Myers has verbally accepted the position of police chief. He still needs to come in and fill out his paperwork. If everything goes well, his first day will be Sept. 20,” Dailey said.

“There were three of four things that led to our selection of Mr. Myers. The first was he had more experience in different areas of law enforcement. On a wider range, I don’t remember the exact number but he had numerous certificates and licenses in law enforcement. In addition, he submitted 10 or 12 items he believes he can initiate within communities. Overall, his managerial and leadership skills in the interview process were superior to the others. The other candidates were all very, very good and the final decision was very close,” Dailey explained.

The new police chief is currently working for the Smith County Sheriff’s Office.

Will Johnson may be contacted via e-mail at [email protected].