Killeen Police Chief Concerned About The 13 Homicides This Year

As of October 1st, 2021 Killeen Texas has 13 homicides.

There's also been a rash of gang violence in the city.

Chief Charles Kimble spoke with me, Trey the Choklit Jok about the violence, and what the Killeen Police Department is doing about it.

Think about that number, by the way: 13 homicides. For a community as small and tight-knit as Killeen, that's a substantial number.

Chief Kimble has been head of the Killeen PD for just over four years now, and as you can tell from our interview, he's an intelligent guy who seems to really care about the Killeen community.

I asked him if the rise in violence could attributed to gang violence, post-pandemic craziness, or a combination of both.

Chief Kimble said that Killeen has, unfortunately, followed the national trend of increased crime. Many factors, including close proximity of people during the pandemic and the tough economic times, have contributed.

Kimble said that as Killeen grows, there are issues of gang affiliation as well. The gang problem is top of mind for Kimble for him. He said in our interview that he knows who they are, who's harboring them, etc., and he's determined to take them down with the help of state and federal partners.

The end goal is to make Killeen a safer place to live. There's a lot of hometown pride in Central Texas, and we want to make sure that as the growth continues, people feel ok about moving here.

Chief Kimble also talked about the relationship between the department and the citizens, especially at a time when trust between law enforcement and average citizens is pretty low.

Check out the full interview above to hear what Chief Kimble had to say.