Administration

Meet Chief Stevens

Chief Stevens was appointed as the Rockport Chief of Police in June 2019 and has almost 35 years of law enforcement experience.  He came to Rockport after retiring as the Chief of Police in Lubbock, Texas where he had served as a police officer since 1992 and had been the Chief of Police since 2015.  Chief Stevens is also a retired Naval Intelligence Officer having served a nearly 25-year active and reserve military career. 

Chief Stevens began his law enforcement career as a military police officer in the U.S. Air Force, enlisting in 1988 one month after graduating from high school.  He served as a base patrol officer and K-9 handler for most of his initial enlistment at Eielson Air Force Base outside Fairbanks, Alaska.  After being honorably discharged at the rank of Sergeant (E-4), Chief Stevens moved back to Texas and joined the Lubbock Police Department.  Working his way up the rank structure of the LPD, Chief Stevens served in almost every division of the department.  He has conducted or assisted in wide-ranging investigations, including for crimes of larceny, vandalism, narcotics, prostitution, assault, gang violence, robbery, sexual assault, kidnapping and murder.  As a narcotics investigator and supervisor for many years, Chief Stevens performed and led undercover operations and conducted surveillance activities against illicit drug organizations.  Having served several years on the LPD SWAT team, Chief Stevens participated in numerous special threat operations including hostage situations, barricaded gunmen, high-risk arrest and search warrant services, etc. 

Later in his career with the LPD, Chief Stevens promoted into administrative positions and developed experience in myriad law enforcement support services, including training, records, evidence management, information technology, detention and crime analysis.   In 2010, Chief Stevens served temporarily as the LPD Police Academy Commander and Texas Commission On Law Enforcement (TCOLE) Training Coordinator.  He spent several years in command of the department’s Internal Affairs unit conducting or supervising of investigations into officer and employee misconduct and integrity violations.  For over four years, Chief Stevens was the designated Public Information Officer and primary spokesperson for the LPD.  He has been recognized as an expert witness in law enforcement policy, search and seizure, use of force, illicit drug manufacturing and trafficking as well as other law enforcement matters in several Texas District Courts and in United States District Court. 

While pursuing his career with LPD, Chief Stevens returned to the military in 1998 and reenlisted in the U.S. Navy Reserve as a Master-At-Arms Third Class Petty Officer (E-4).   He was recalled to active duty in support of Operation Noble Eagle nine days after the September 11^th terrorist attacks in 2001 and served as a base patrol and administrative officer in the Security Detachment at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida.  Other significant deployments as an enlisted sailor included to Rodman Naval Station, Panama to provide military law enforcement and security as the last phases of The Panama Canal Treaty were implemented, relinquishing the remaining Canal Zone areas under U.S. Navy control to the Panamanian government, and to US European Fleet Command providing security and anti-terrorism force protection throughout the London, England region to include the US Embassy and at Royal Air Force Base West Ruislip. 

In 2005, while board eligible for selection as a Master-At-Arms Chief Petty Officer (E-7), Chief Stevens received a commission in the US Navy Reserve as a Naval Intelligence Officer and began serving as a counter-terrorism intelligence analyst assigned to the Joint Intelligence Operations Center (JIOC), Joint Detachment Fort Worth at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas.  Later he became an imagery analyst leading a team responsible for providing real-time satellite and live imagery support for the Pacific Command Headquarters at Naval Station Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.  In 2009, Chief Stevens was selected for orders to the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center at Naval Air Station Fallon, Nevada and began training as a Navy Targeting Officer, later attending the Department of Defense Joint Targeting School (JTS) and Staff Course on Doctrine at Joint Forces Command, Navy and Marine Intelligence Training Center at Naval Air Station Oceana, Dam Neck Annex, Virginia.   Significant deployments included antiterrorism contingency operations in support of Operation Enduring Freedom supporting Naval Special Warfare, Development Group (SEAL Team DEVGRU), as part of a Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) Task Force.  In 2015, Chief Stevens retired from all military service as a Navy Lieutenant (O-3).

Chief Stevens holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice (BS-CJ) from Wayland Baptist University and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from Texas Tech University.  He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy (FBINA) and the FBI Law Enforcement Executive Development Seminar (FBI-LEEDS) programs.  Chief Stevens also has completed the Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas Leadership Command College (LEMIT-LCC) program through Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas.  He is an active member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and the Texas Police Chiefs Association (TPCA).  Most recently, Chief Stevens worked with other Texas coastal area police chiefs to create the Coastal Bend Police Chiefs Association and was elected as its first President, and he now serves as the association’s Immediate Past President.  He has over two decades of experience as an instructor in law enforcement and leadership related subjects and continues to teach and speak publicly on a multitude of topics. 

Chief Stevens lives with his wife, Randi, in Rockport, Texas where he enjoys golf, fishing, running, cooking, and traveling.  Together they have four grown children, a son in Austin, a daughter in Kansas, and twin daughters attending college in Texas.