Christopher Wray was officially named the next Kosciusko Police Chief at last Friday morning’s special called Aldermen meeting in a 4-1 vote.
Ward One Alderman James Culpepper, Ward Three Alderman Robert Ellis, Ward Four Alderman Jeffrey Woods, and Alderman-at-Large Earl Price each voted in favor of hiring Wray, with Ward Two Alderman Henry Daniel dissenting.
“I have nothing against Mr. Wray or anything like that,” said Daniel. “I’m voting according to my conscience.”
Wray, a 39-year-old Kosciusko native, graduated from Kosciusko High School in 2000 before attending the University of Mississippi, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice and minored in psychology. After graduating from Ole Miss, Wray was hired by Oxford Police Department, where he has served for the last 14 years in several roles including patrolman, DUI enforcement unit, Patrol Sergeant, Patrol Lieutenant, SWAT team leader and commander, and school resource officer at Central Elementary School. Wray is of Christian faith and fathers one five-year-old girl.
Wray said he transferred from being a Lieutenant to the school resource officer position because he loves schools and community policing. He also enjoyed the work schedule because it allowed him more time to spend with his family.
“That was very important to me and my family, because family comes first,” said Wray.
Wray said his grandparents have been residents of Attala County for his entire life, but he was born on Scott Air Force Base in St. Clair County, Illinois, because both of his parents were in the Air Force.
“Attala County has always been home to me because my grandparents were such a big part of my upbringing in life,” he said.
Wray declined to detail his plans for the police department until he meets with officers and has a full discussion about his vision, but he said working with the community will play a big part.
“You have to have a partnership with your community. If the community has the police department’s back and we can work together, then we can really make our community better together,” said Wray, “and in a small town like Kosciusko, it's great for everyone to know every officer in the town personally and be able to speak to them when they see them out in the coffee shop or somewhere else. I really want to chase after the community and make sure that we have mutual respect.”
He said he is appreciative to be named the next Kosciusko police chief, and he plans on becoming an asset in the community.
“Being able to grow up in that community and then leave, get an education, get valuable experience at a large department, and then to come back to that community and bring what I learned on the job back really means a lot to me,” said Wray.
After interviewing the last of seven police chief candidates at Tuesday night’s aldermen meeting, the board decided to deliberate for two weeks. Mayor Tim Kyle said he called each of the aldermen last Thursday, however, and told them there was no use in waiting if they knew the candidate they wanted.
“I didn't know when they were going to make their decision. The other night we had a long board meeting and decided not to do it, then I called all of the aldermen and said, ‘Hey, are you guys ready to go ahead and do this? I mean, there's no sense in prolonging it by two weeks if you know who you’re going to vote for,’” said Kyle.
Kyle characterizes Wray as a sharp, young candidate who came into the interview process with a detailed plan for the department. He even requested a copy of the city’s budget from city hall prior to his interview and proposed ideas and suggestions during his meeting with aldermen.
Kyle said the city had seven good candidates, including a couple from within the ranks, and he believes it was courageous of the board to select someone from outside the department to take the helm.
“It took courage for the aldermen to think outside of the department, and they really hated going outside of the department because we've got some good guys over there,” said Kyle. “And I’m 100 percent sure those guys could have run the department.”
But after reviewing strong recommendations from Oxford Mayor Robyn Tannehill and Chief of Police Jeff McCutchen, the board felt they found the right man for the job.
“The Mayor of Oxford Robyn Tannehill called me and said, ‘This guy is fantastic. We’d hate to lose him up here.’ She said this guy is a natural leader, and he’s a guy that people want to follow,” said Kyle.
The mayor said he believes this is the best decision for the department’s future, and he hopes to see the department support their new leader.
“Man, I hate it for our two local guys in our department, but they told me from the get-go that they wanted what was best for this department,” said Kyle. “The decision has been made and I think they will get behind this guy, and this will be best for the department in the long run.”
Kyle said Wray demonstrated exceptional leadership and has envisioned a structure for the department going forward. Wray told Kyle he also plans to implement initiatives to benefit the community, including quarterly coffee with cops and neighborhood meetings, monthly donuts for school resource officers to share with students, a ‘Camp Cops’ program during summer break, an officer-of-the-month program, and a ‘Pack the Patrol Car’ event. Wray indicated that he expects to see a reduction in crime as a result of potential improvements, and that he plans to bring successful programs from the larger Oxford police department to Kosciusko, including fresh perspectives and ideas.
“It’s just a fresh approach to things. Not saying that the way things have been done is wrong, it’s just the way it has always been done,” said Kyle. “I told the guys it takes courage to change, but a lot of times great things come from that.”
Wray said he has been in touch with Interim Chief David White and plans on learning from his time as interim chief and accepting any advice White may offer.
“He has been in law enforcement for a long time, and I value his opinion. We’re going to sit down and discuss everything in the police department,” said Wray. “I respect Chief White, and it’s my understanding that the men really respect Chief White. That means something to me, so I’m going to sit down with him today and rely heavily on him.”
Wray said he does not have an official start date yet but hopes to begin in the first or second week of November. He appreciates the board of aldermen for choosing him to run the department and said he has received plenty of positive feedback since his job was announced.
“I’m extremely grateful to the mayor and Board of Aldermen for giving me this opportunity,” said Wray, “and I’m going to do everything I can not to let them and the community down because I really feel like I owe it to them to do a good job and run that police department to the best of my ability.”
