Area residents had a chance to say "goodbye" to retiring Midland, Texas, Police Chief John Urby this afternoon. Here's Tina Jauz's news release with highlights of his career:
The Midland Police Department will host a retirement party for outgoing Chief of Police John Urby. The event will take place Thursday, April 26, 2007, from 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. in the third floor conference room of the MPD. The media is encouraged to attend.
Urby’s retirement will be effective April 30, 2007, bringing an end to a 27½ -year career with the Midland Police Department.
Urby was first hired by the City of Midland as a Police Officer on August 8, 1979. He was promoted to Sergeant on October 1, 1981, to Lieutenant on January 1, 1990, and Deputy Chief on February 1, 1993. Urby was appointed Chief of Police on December 1, 1997.
During his tenure as Chief, Urby has lead the department to national recognition, remained on the cutting edge of technology, and helped to obtain increased in salary for sworn personnel. The MPD is one of 574 agencies out of 17,000 to be a nationally accredited department. In 2006, the MPD was named a Flagship Agency for the first time ever. The department is serving as a role model to other agencies. MPD’s National Night Out has been recognized for eight of the last nine years. New technology is now being used at the department including in vehicle laptops, field reporting, AVL/CAD in the works. Pay Progression for sworn employees with steps 4-9 funded and overall salaries increasing 50% since he has been chief.
Urby plans to remain in Midland while he pursues other interests.
(AVL/CAD stands for Automatic Vehicle Location and Computer Assisted Dispatch.)
Chief Urby is very well liked in the community and is held in high regard by the members of the police department. The photo was taken on March 28, 2007, and shows outgoing Chief Urby with newly appointed Acting Chief Price Robinson.
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