After 10 years as Flower Mound’s police chief, Andy Kancel officially retired on Friday. Kancel will stay on as interim chief until this spring while Flower Mound searches for his replacement, according to a town news release.
During Kancel’s tenure as chief, the Flower Mound Police Department maintained low response times and some of the lowest crime rates in the state while the population increased by over 20%, according to the release.
Kancel created new positions and assignments, prioritized community engagement and physical and mental health programs and led the department through the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s incredibly bittersweet to be saying goodbye to this department and community, but I’m looking forward to my next adventure,” Kancel said in the release. “I am so proud of everything the department has accomplished, and I have been blessed with incredibly supportive community members, elected officials, and town management. The men and women of the Flower Mound Police Department are truly the best of the best, and I was lucky to have served alongside them for the past decade.”
Kancel began his career in 1989 with the North Richland Hills Police Department, and in 2007 he became its assistant chief.
Flower Mound hired him as its police chief on Nov. 4, 2013.
A nationwide search for the department’s next chief will begin in December.