(Seguin) — Seguin’s newest police chief Jason Brady is officially on the job.
Chief Brady was sworn in yesterday before a packed house in the Community Room at the Seguin Public Library.
Brady says he was impressed by the turnout, and the level of support that has already been shown to him and his family.
“Obviously, it’s nice to see the dignitaries and the peers in my profession and sort of my fellow city employees but as I went around the room, there were just members of the community that just came out because they saw this was posted and they wanted to meet me and welcome me. That’s the whole reason I want to be a part of this community right there – that close support,” said Brady.
Brady was named the new police chief early this summer and follows in the footsteps of former Chief Terry Nichols, who retired this past spring.
Chief Brady has 26 years of experience with the Corpus Christi Police Department and most recently led the department in the City of Rollingwood located, in the Austin-Round Rock Metropolitan area.
Brady says despite his transition into the department, he has no plans to change its course of direction, but instead to enhance what is already in place.
“I want them to know that first of all, nothing is going to change in terms of the community engagement and the level of professionalism that they’ve always experienced from the Seguin Police Department and what we are going to do is do a careful analysis of where we are at and how we can improve upon that and also strategically looking at how we can continue this level of community engagement and support as the population grows. As I spoke of — is you have increased population density, possibly changing demographics, increased traffic, more construction so those are all elements that could change the current formula and I want to be careful that we keep that balance of transparency and professionalism and community engagement,” said Brady.
Also introduced to the community was Brady’s family. Joining him on this newest chapter of his career is wife, Patricia; 21-year-old daughter, Becky; and son, Reagan, a high school senior.
Patricia says she is just as excited to be a part of the Seguin community and looks forward to her new law enforcement family.
“I am looking forward to it and I’m excited about being a part of the community here in Seguin. I’ve always lived in kind of a small area and then I’m moving from Leander to here. I’m excited about getting to know more people, meeting people and I’m looking forward to it,” said Patricia.
Also excited to finally welcome Brady on board was Seguin Mayor Donna Dodgen and City Manager Steve Parker.
Parker, during the ceremony, said that Brady was the top candidate in a pool of 50 applicants. He says that Brady has the leadership skills and the knowledge to lead the department.
Mayor Dodgen added that during the interview process, there was never a question of Brady’s ability to do the job and do the job well.
“We’ve been very blessed in having police chiefs and having people who care about Seguin and work together with other law enforcement and he will continue that. Our police and our fire and our sheriff, they work together, and they will continue to do that and I think he will take us to that. The group who initially at the end interviewed him, the panel, were immediately ‘he’s it for us’ and I’ve met him several times. He and his family, they are committed. They are community orientated. He’s going to be amazing, and I want us to welcome him,” said Dodgen.
Mayor Dodgen says Brady’s addition to the department marks a new opportunity for everyone in the community to also connect with the day-to-day efforts of the Seguin PD.
“If you see them out and about, say hello. If you see him and he’s a new face, introduce yourself. Invite him to things. He will come and be a part of. National Night Out is coming. They will be around. He will be going around and visiting and meeting people, get out and meet him. Volunteer for the things that the police department is involved in. The Blue Santa Program and gift wrapping is coming up. We just had the Cinderella Ball. They’ve done backpacks. They’ll be doing more things like that so anyway you want to be engaged in the community because we are all a big family, you will meet everyone,” said Dodgen.
Brady holds law enforcement degrees from Ottawa University and Texas A&M University in Corpus Christi.
He also holds both a Master Peace Officer Certification and Police Instructor Certification from the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement, and he is a graduate of both the FBI National Academy and the Leadership Command College at the Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas.
Chief Brady will oversee a department, which includes 86 employees, 62 of which are commissioned peace officers.
