Electra Police Department Has Four Openings
By: Mechell DIxon
Updated: December 7, 2012
Residents I spoke with would not talk on camera but say they were not worried.
And I met with Chief Johnny Morris who explained why.
Electra is a small town with a small police force but now that force has even fewer officers.
The department has four openings and Chief Johnny Morris says a starting salary of $30,555 a year is the biggest reason.
But that's not all.
Any officer hired here must already have their Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education certificate, also known as TCLEOSE.
"I can't have my own training. They have to go through a certified police academy and get their TCLEOSE basic police officer certificate before I can hire them," says Chief Morris.
Morris says they must also be open to working in a close-knit community.
"You have to have a good personality. You have to have people skills," Morris explains.
Skills that involve handling all types of situations, like checking on Billie Goodner's relatives when she called from another town.
"He's checked my grandchildren for me." Goodner says.
But when it comes to residents, Chief Morris says they don't have to worry.
"Ninety percent of the time I would have one officer per shift even when I'm full up cause school, days off, vacation, I would rotate them around. We do work rotating shifts. Not one officer stuck on midnight to 8 the rest of his life."
Chief Morris says the four Electra police officer openings are listed on the Texas Municipal League website.
He also says he's currently reviewing several applications.
