Macon police chief enters retirement and reflects on his experience
MACON, Miss. (WCBI) – This week is National Police Week.
It’s a time to recognize law enforcement officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty, and a time to recognize the sacrifice and service of current officers.
One officer has worked his way up through the ranks to chief, and now, he’s hanging up his hat.
Macon Police Chief Davine Beck always knew he was meant to help people.
“I wanted to be a firefighter or a police officer,” Beck said. “I ended up fortunately being both. My career fell into being a police officer, and I enjoyed every moment. It was definitely my calling at the age of four years old. I heard the sirens. I always ran. Most people would run away from the sirens, but I ran to them to see where they were going. It was my calling.”
Beck has been a police officer for 28 years. All 28 of those have been with the Macon Police Department.
Oftentimes, officers will move to other departments, but he always knew that Macon was where he was meant to be.
“I loved my community so much, it wasn’t about the money to bounce around to other agencies. I had offers to bounce around to other agencies in Mississippi, but I chose to do all my time here because I love my community,” Beck said.
However, serving with a smaller department has its pitfalls, and there are limited resources.
“Being a small department, you have big turnover because guys want to go and follow the money. Some of them want to follow the action. So, smaller departments rely on a lot of grants, and grants have helped me out being a chief,” Beck said.
The grants helped the department get equipment like body cams, pole cams, radios, vehicles, and more – saving the city over $100,000.
Beck said time has flown by, and he wishes he could have done more for the department, but he is proud of how the department has grown over the years.
But a lot has changed within law enforcement since he first started. Now, there are more drugs, and more kids are committing violent crimes.
“We are arresting 15 and 16-year-old kids for more violent crimes: aggravated assault, some involving murders. It’s changed a whole lot. Kids are different,” Beck said.
Beck said as he looks back over his time with the department, it is bittersweet.
“I’m retiring to spend more time with my family, to look out for my mental health, and other health issues that have come with being in law enforcement,” Beck said.
And he has advice for younger generations of law enforcement.
“Keep a level head, be humble, work with people the best way you can, listen to the people, and you can’t go wrong from that,” Beck said.
At the moment, Assistant Police Chief Carlos Hill is acting as interim chief. Beck plans to rest and travel during retirement.
