Chief Angela Mathews had her first official day on the job on Monday after starting the day being sworn in by Lt. Preston Green.
The new chief who got her start in Killeen before spending a year at Jarrell spoke about the importance of community outreach in a department and what that could look like for the city moving forward.
“Community engagement was one of the things they were looking for which is my bread and butter,” Mathews said. “I love reaching out to the community and building those relationships so they can trust us, and we can trust them. That's how we solve crimes.”
She described the Community Outreach Program she headed in Killeen, discussing some of the ways she and her unit connected.
“We would teach active shooter to the community,” Mathews said. “The first one we did, we invited churches and schools to come out … and we taught them CRASE, civilian response to active shooter events. People absolutely loved it.”
Similarly to how the fire department will come to businesses to teach Stop the Bleed, her unit’s active shooter classes went from weekend seminars to on-site training for local businesses.
“It got so popular that people would call me and say, ‘we heard about your class, [and] we want your officers to come out and teach our employees,’” Mathews said. “They would literally shut down their businesses for half a day for our officers to come out and teach them. The whole community was basically a part of it.”
She also spoke about how her officers engaged in community events, of which Pilot Point has a plethora.
“We were trying to revitalize our downtown, similarly to what Pilot Point is doing,” Mathews said. “That was just another way we would get out there. They’d have bands and we’d get out there and dance with the community, have little competitions and just walk around and be part of it.”
Mathews explained that in her experience, it’s about reaching out.
“We worked well and closely with all of our city departments and business merchants going to their meetings once a month to sit down with them and say, ‘hey, what’s going on in our area, what do we need to know about, how can we help,’” Mathews said. She explained she has several events in mind as well from Coffee with a Cop to back to school events.
“It takes more than just us doing it,” Mathews said. “We have to reach out to our community so they can get involved, too. We’re going to do it slowly but surely. We’ll have a couple, and next year we’ll have a whole calendar.”
The other focus Mathews said she has as she settles into the position is being proactive when it comes to growth.
“You have to plan for the future,” Mathews said. “You can’t just say, ‘Oh, they just built 50 new houses, [so] we should probably ask for new officers. You have to sit down with your city manager, go to those council meetings and listen to your council and your citizens about what their needs are.”
This process, she explained, also involves the community.
“I plan to put together some community forums so we can listen to what our community has, to see and hear what their needs are, so we can cater to those,” Mathews said. “As our city grows, we are probably going to be bringing on more offi cers to accommodate that growth, but also, we’ll probably start breaking down our areas because you’ve got housing all the way to 455 and past 1385. It’s growing, so we’re going to be planning for that growth every fiscal year.”
Even when she puts the badge down, Mathews said community is still a focus for her.
“I love to travel, but even off the clock I’m very community focused,” Mathews said. “I like to put together hygiene bags during the holidays to give to people in need and am always participating in different types of community events.”
She then shared a more personal note.
“I also like to read and binge watch,” Mathews said. “I like brunches and self-care [and] spending time with my family and friends. I am ‘The Aunty.’ I have nieces and nephews. My parents live in Killeen as well as one of my sisters and the other lives in Georgia, but I have family here in the DFW areas as well.”
A ceremonial swearing-in ceremony for Chief Mathews is set for 2 p.m. Friday at City Hall.
