Pilot Point Police Department Chief Rex Marks retired effectively immediately, the city manager announced on Monday. Two weeks prior, Pilot Point officials discussed low morale and culture deficits in the department.
Marks served as the chief of police beginning in March 2022. He came to the department with more than three decades of law enforcement experience.
A press release from the city on Monday did not provide reasoning for Marks’ resignation.
However, at an April 11 City Council meeting, council members and the chief discussed issues with staffing and department culture.
Several residents also expressed concerns about the department during the public comments section. Additionally, a petition calling for Marks’ removal, which states his leadership “destroyed” the department’s culture, gained more than 100 signatures.
Marks told the council that since he took over as chief in 2022, the department experienced a turnover rate of 60%. This was an improvement from the previous chiefs, he said.
As of April 11, the department had the budget for 15 total sworn positions, 12 or 13 of which were for patrol officers. However, Marks told the council there were only six total sworn members at the time.
Marks said this, coupled with a rising crime rate, was a safety concern. Regardless of how many officers there are, Marks said the community expectation remains the same: When someone calls 911, an officer should show up.
“If you look at our ability to respond to calls for service, and right now, with our expansion out to the east side and the construction, it can be an extended period of time for us to respond to an emergency call out there,” Marks said. “That’s true of fire and police both. That is a significant concern.”
In his presentation to council, Marks cited internal trust and communication as weaknesses of the department.
Mayor Elisa Beasley also expressed concern over the turnover at the department and the large area covered by only six officers.
“I don’t live with elephants in the room ... but I believe it's a public safety problem,” Beasley said at the council meeting. “Since I took this position 16 months ago, I’ve heard there’s smoke in the PD department.
"I believe the problem is communication, trust, morale and the culture. We’ve talked about that, Britt [Lusk]. There’s a problem with the culture and then that leads to a problem with retention.”
Beasley asked City Manager Britt Lusk whether the department was conducting exit interviews to find out how to address the cultural issues and improve retention.
“[Council] can control money,” she said. “We can’t control leadership and culture.”
Lusk said they had to involuntarily terminate three officers because they “didn’t fit the culture we needed in Pilot Point.” Others left for opportunities at departments with better pay and benefits, he said. The city took steps last year to edge the pay closer to a competitive range for the local industry.
“I don’t want to create a self-fulfilling prophecy,” Lusk told the mayor. “I don’t want to get to a point where if an officer is researching Pilot Point, all they see is negative feedback when Pilot Point is different. You said this is a great place to be. I remember the first time I got here. We instantly knew we were home. And I know [Chief Marks] said the same thing.”
When Beasley asked Lusk about actionable measures to improve the culture, Lusk said Marks had been meeting face-to-face with officers more frequently to establish better communication.
Lusk told the mayor that he thought the communication in the department was growing but that it was hard to measure concepts like morale and culture.
A little over two weeks after this discussion in front of council, Marks tenured his resignation.
Now, Jeff Gibson, the current chief of police at the Murphy Police Department, will serve as a temporary interim chief while the city looks for a more long-term interim.
Then, the city will conduct a nationwide search for Marks’ permanent replacement.
“As we focus on finding the right leader for our police department, the safety of our community is paramount,” Lusk said in the Monday press release. “Over the next few months, we will be taking a deep look at our policies and procedures to address the needs of our department to better serve our community.”