The City of Melissa is hiring a new police chief to head up public safety operations in the small Collin County town of 4,500 people.
Erik Stokes, a veteran cop with a long professional history in North Texas, was selected.
City officials conducted a nationwide search to find a replacement for its longest-serving chief of police, Duane Smith, who is retiring next month after 21 years on the job, according to a news release.
Melissa City Manager Jason Little said more than 40 candidates from 11 different states applied for the position.
“We are thrilled to bring Chief Stokes on as our Police Chief,” Little said in a press release. “We maintain a strong conviction that Melissa continues its commitment to select passionate leaders to meet the community’s immediate and future needs.”
“Chief Stokes will be a great fit for this premier department, and I am so honored he and his family will join this great city,” Little added.
Stokes previously served as assistant police chief in Farmers Branch. He has been in law enforcement for nearly 30 years, starting as a patrol officer in 1994. After rising through the ranks, he was named assistant chief in 2020. He has a master’s degree in criminal justice from Midwestern State University.
Outgoing Police Chief Smith is set to retire on August 25.
“It’s been an honor to have served the City of Melissa. I wish to express my deepest gratitude to City Council members, past and present, City Manager Jason Little, and especially the professional officers of the Melissa Police Department with whom I have had the great pleasure of working over the years. Without their support, I would not have been able to achieve this success,” Smith said, per the news release.
Smith was born in Kentucky and moved to Allen with his family as a child. He was in the U.S. Army for four years, then attended Collin County Police Academy in 1994.
He was the longest-serving police chief in Melissa’s history. He was offered the top job in May 2002, when the city had only three full-time officers, one part-time officer, and an administrative assistant, according to the press release.
Today, department personnel include a chief, assistant chief, two detectives, 11 patrol officers, two patrol sergeants, an administrative sergeant, a police services officer, a part-time warrant officer, and one civilian. The department is looking to fill two openings for patrol officers.
Melissa’s police department appears well-staffed today, at least according to a City of Dallas analysis that recommends roughly three police officers for every 1,000 residents. For its part, the Dallas Police Department has been enduring a severe staffing shortage, with only 3,100 of the 4,000 needed to adequately police its city.
Relatedly, crime in Downtown Dallas has been regularly outpacing crime in Fort Worth’s downtown area, which has a dedicated neighborhood unit working alongside private security guards.
