Video: Nichols Strives to Keep Community Strong

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STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) — It’s been six months since Starkville Police Chief Frank Nichols was sworn in as the first African American top cop of Starkville.

When Nichols took office in February, the first thing on his agenda was to fill key positions within his department. Two weeks later an assistant chief was appointed.

“About a month and a half later I promoted two captains, three lieutenants, and four sergeants. And I’ve been extremely blessed and fortunate to have the men and women that I’m working with. They are truly professionals, they truly care about the community,” Nichols said.

Nichols has been with the police department since 1992. He’s certainly no stranger to Starkville or the department. He feels that somehow gives him an advantage.

“Most of the citizens here I know personally. If I have any kind of incident with the children, the first thing I ask them is, ‘Who is your parent?’ And I try to deal with it from that perspective,” Nichols said.

And spending the summer in Virginia at the FBI Academy undergoing training, Nichols graduates and has the traditional yellow brick on display in his office. Training that’s sure to come in handy in the day to day operation as head of his department.

“Everything that I’ve heard about it didn’t do it any justice. It far exceeded my expectations. I had a chance to interact with 228 other professionals all over the world,” Nichols said.

Nichols is vowing to do two things: Be there for the safety of the community as they enjoy a good quality of life, and be transparent when it comes to his relationship with the media.

“I want the community to be able to any time they need the police officers to come to the police department or call us. If they have any questions I want them to be able to ask us. And we should have an answer for them,” Nichols said.

Nichols is planning a community meeting for Aug. 28.

Categories: Crime, Local News

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