City begins search for new chief
By Joe Reavis
Staff Writer
Murphy Police Chief G.M. Cox announced his retirement this week from the department he has led since 2008, effective July 1.
Cox, who has worked in law enforcement for 43 years, will take a position as an assistant professor and Director of the Public Administration graduate program at Tarleton State University.
“The city of Murphy has been extremely fortunate to have had Chief Cox leading our police force,” City Manager James Fisher said. “Chief Cox came to Murphy when the city needed someone with the kind of stability, composure and experience that would restore citizen confidence. He not only met that challenge, but he exceeded our expectations.”
The Murphy Police Department consists of 24 officers and 13 civilian members of the force. The city has started a national search for a new chief.
“I have been asked to participate a little,” Cox says. “The city manger asks me questions and I answer.”
Cox started his law enforcement career during a 6-year hitch in the U.S. Air Force, and after receiving an honorable discharge from the service he earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Law Enforcement and Police Science in 1979 at Sam Houston State University, graduating summa cum laude and Alpha Chi.
He earned a Master of Science in Criminal Justice Management at SHSU in 1987, and in 2011, he completed requirements for a Doctorate Degree in public administration at the University of Texas at Arlington School of Urban and Public Affairs. His dissertation, “Crisis in Police Recruitment: Public Service Motivation and Changes in Generational Preferences,” has become a resource for police agencies throughout the state.
Over his career, Cox served as a deputy sheriff with Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office in Conroe, chief of the newly created Oak Ridge North Police Department in south Montgomery County, as an officer with the Lamesa Police Department and as chief of Corsicana Police Department for 15 years until joining the Murphy department.
He also has been an adjunct faculty member at Lone Star College, Howard College, Navarro College, Texas A&M University-Commerce and UT-Arlington, Since 2013, the chief has taught in the Leadership Command College at Bill Blackwood Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas.
“My greatest accomplishment at Murphy is achieving Best Practices recognition through Texas Police Chiefs Association,” Cox said, pointing out that just 111 Texas police departments have earned the designation out of more than 2,000 departments that are eligible.
Cox holds a Master Peace Officer certificate issued by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Standards and Education, is a graduate of the FBI National Academy at Quantico, VA, and is a court qualified mediator, certified law enforcement instructor and security inspector.
Over the years he has been president of Texas Police Chiefs Association, president of South Plains Chiefs of Police Association, president of Navarro County Peace Officers Association and a board member of Texas Municipal League representing Texas Police Chiefs Association.
Cox reports that he will teach at the Fort Worth campus of Tarleton State and that he and his wife of 25 years, Kathy, will move back to Corsicana where they still own a home.
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