By Bill Peterson
KYLE – Six years after taking over a small police force in a small town, Al Moore has resigned as the Chief of Police for the Kyle Police Department (KPD).
Moore, who is approaching retirement age, announced his resignation in a press release Wednesday. He will step down on June 1.
Moore came to Kyle during the summer of 2001 after decades of operating police departments in towns of a few thousand people. At that time, Kyle was that kind of town, measuring 5,314 on the 2000 Census. The police department had eight sworn officers.
Now, Kyle has exceeded 25,000 residents and the police department is up to 28 full-time employees, including 19 sworn officers. The KPD budget has increased from $300,000 to $1.75 million.
"I was hired six years ago for the specific purpose of taking the Kyle Police Department to the next level through an anticipated period of rapid growth," Moore said. "I don’t believe anyone realized at that time how much growth was to follow, but I believe I have completed the job I was hired to do and now it is time to move on."
Kyle City Manager Tom Mattis has appointed KPD Captain Pedro Hernandez as interim police chief. Hernandez had recently been promoted from lieutenant.
"I feel the Chief has left us a very competent police force that will continue to function at an extraordinarily high level," said Mattis. "I have every confidence that Acting Chief Hernandez and his officers and staff will continue to fulfill the mission of providing quality law enforcement and public safety that Chief Moore has instilled in them."
