Published: October 06, 2008 11:41 pm            

Cox takes PD post in Murphy

Retired Corsicana police chief to run North Texas force

The retirement of Corsicana Police Chief GM Cox lasted less than a week.

Cox, whose last day with the Corsicana Police Department was Oct. 1, was introduced Monday as the new police chief in Murphy, an upscale Collin County town of about 15,000 that borders the city of Plano. The announcement was made at Monday’s Murphy City Council meeting.

Cox said he applied for the job after he had submitted his retirement papers with Corsicana, and saw the job offer as an opportunity he couldn’t pass up.

“I never was going to ‘not work’,” Cox said Monday. “It was just about finding the right opportunity at the right time.

“As I said my plans had backup plans and my backup plans had backup plans,” Cox said. “One of my plans was if something comes up, I apply for it.”

Cox said the Murphy Police Department has 22 officers and 16 civilian employees. He replaces an interim police chief who has served in the post for the past six months.

Cox plans to relocate to the Murphy area, although his family will remain in Corsicana for now. He has two daughters attending Corsicana High School, and wants them to be able to finish high school in Corsicana.

In an Aug. 30 story about his decision to retire, Cox said he didn’t have any other job or career in mind. “Policing is a very interesting career path, but it’s all I’ve done since I was 19 years old,” Cox said in a Daily Sun interview. “It’s just one of those things the family and I talked about and decided now was the right time.”

In his new position in Murphy, Cox will earn an annual salary of $108,000 plus a car allowance.

Cox served as chief of Corsicana’s police for 15 years. A retirement ceremony for Cox held at the Palace Theatre Sept. 26 brought accolades and gifts to Cox from city leaders, department officers and professional acquaintances.

—————

Bob Belcher may be reached via e-mail at belcher@corsicanadailysun.com

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.