Heights police chief to retire after 45 years in law enforcement | Local

When Gadd began his law enforcement career at age 19, he couldn’t purchase rounds for his own service weapon.

During the past 4½ decades, Gadd served 14½ years with the Killeen Police Department, more than 23 years with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with eight of those in Central Texas and the last 7½ years with the City of Harker Heights as deputy chief and chief of police.

Gadd said, “The high point of my career was working with so many hard working and dedicated officers. What these men and women accomplished was incredible. They were tenacious and didn’t want to give up until crimes were solved.

You saw them out in public because they weren’t just police officers they were your neighbor, friend and family.”

Gadd’s career started at KPD in 1977. By 1989, he rose to the rank of captain of the Criminal Investigations and Patrol divisions as a firearms instructor, police academy instructor, polygraph examiner, internal affairs commander, and patrol watch commander.

He attained the position of captain at the age of 32 and during that time earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Criminal Justice/Police Science and Police Administration.

Subsequently, Gadd decided to become an FBI Special Agent.

He started that part of his career in 1991 working in a three-person resident agency in Helena, Montana.

Gadd was the Montana Case Agent for UNABOMB and worked surveillance of Ted Kaczynski’s cabin in the days leading up to his 1996 capture.

Once he completed his Helena tour, he transferred to the Oklahoma City Division where he became a SWAT sniper team leader and polygraph examiner.

He was also deployed to Nairobi, Kenya, after the bombing of our embassies and traveled overseas extensively to assist in investigations.

Gadd was then promoted to Supervisory Special Agent and transferred to Washington, D.C., where he was promoted to chief of the FBI polygraph program to manage a $15 million budget, 120 FBI agent polygraph examiners at FBI headquarters and 56 FBI field offices.

Gadd told the Herald during an interview in May, “In my FBI training, there were specifics I learned about being an agent, federal laws versus state laws and even digging into the United States Code of Military Justice. This became a great resource when it came time to be a neighbor to Fort Hood.”

In July 2006, Gadd came back home to Texas and became the Austin Resident Agency Supervisory Special Agent for its violent crime/major offenders program, where he supervised 35 special agents and task force officers covering 27 Central Texas counties.

During that time, Gadd commanded the large-scale takedowns of the Texas Mexican Mafia, La Familia and Texas Syndicate as well as the successfully foiled terrorism Abdo plot and counterterrorism investigation out of Killeen.

Gadd was also the deputy on-scene commander following the 2009 Hasan and 2014 Lopez shootings at Fort Hood plus the 2010 attack on the IRS building in Austin.

Gadd further served his community by establishing joint FBI/private industry crime-reduction tactics and facilitating the launch of www.bandittracker.com, a website that solicited community input for locating and arresting bank robbers.

During its first year, this innovation resulted in an 82 percent bank robbery solution rate as compared to the 44 percent national average.

In 2015, the Harker Heights City Council approved Gadd as the deputy chief of police then in 2018 promoted him to chief of police for the Harker Heights Police Department (HHPD).

In an unprecedented move, Gadd introduced the use of grants to augment the department’s budget. His work resulted in the receipt of 17 grants totaling more than $270,000.

With four of the grants, he enhanced the safety and investigative capability of HHPD by equipping each officer with rifle resistant body armor, which will provide extra protection from high-caliber weapons, body worn cameras and Tasers.

He also obtained a Throw Bot, which is a recon scout micro-robot that further enhances officer safety in visually occluded environments.

Gadd also used his skills to directly impact the community by attaining a rapid intervention response grant to assist victims of crime with shelter, counseling and crisis intervention through the Healthy Homes Program, begun by former Police Chief Mike Gentry.

Gadd and his team secured multiple Walmart and Target grants to build HHPD’s Community Services Division outreach programs, such as the Kiddo Card Program, which is child-identifying information used in Amber Alerts. His leadership also supported Neighborhood Watch Groups, Blue Santa, Citizen’s Police Academy and National Night Out.

Gadd is also well known for his routine of giving presentations and meeting with local churches, civic leaders and business owners to establish and build rapport with the community.

Gadd’s “Coffee with a Cop” program has ensured that any citizen can personally meet with him and other officers at a designated local restaurant to informally discuss their concerns.

In response to Gadd’s service and self-sacrifice over the span of his career, the 100 Club of Central Texas in 2019 selected him as its “Lifetime Achievement Award” recipient. In 2020, he was named a “Distinguished Alumni” by the Killeen Independent School District. He was a Killeen High School graduate.

When asked by the Herald about the challenges of being a police officer and how that’s changed during his career, Gadd said, “A lot of changes have been in technology. It’s incredible what custodians of the law and technicians can accomplish when it comes to evidence.

“By using cell phones, we can find a person’s location, use DNA to eliminate and find suspects, and use radios that give us the capability to communicate with any law enforcement agency in the U.S.”

“On the other hand, it’s been detrimental that families are not a unit anymore. It takes a village to raise a child and it seems to me that village has become deserted.”

“It’s nice to see people rally around the way they do but you don’t see that across this country. In the recent past, you could drive down the street and wave at or even stop and visit with people, but now folks don’t even know their next-door neighbors.

“As police officers we try to get out in the public and let them know we’re available to help in times of trouble and are more than willing to talk with them. We want to hear what they need, what they’re thinking and what they want.”

Gadd said, “Police officers nationwide have had to overcome some of the recent especially loud and vocal movements. Our officers are good but they’re human and sometimes make mistakes. To see officers involved in this is not in the best interest of anyone. It hurts a community and it’s law-abiding citizens.”

On a personal note, “Gadd said, “I don’t think I would be a police officer and the person that I am had it not been for my upbringing. My parents instilled in me right from wrong and the importance of helping others.”

“My wife, Lynne, who also worked for the FBI, assisted me in many operations and decisions we made together about our futures. She is now a recently retired FBI lieutenant commander from the Navy JAG Corps and served for more than 22 years as an internal affairs attorney with the FBI. She’s been a great person by helping guide me in some of my decisions.”

The Gadds’ daughter, Melissa, has blessed them with two grandsons, Miles and Mattox.

“Melissa and our son-in-law, Mike, live in the area and after I retire we will spend a substantial amount of time spoiling our grandsons then giving them back to their parents.”

According to Gadd, he and Lynne have put off spending time with family and friends due to the nature of their work.

“It’s our intent now to travel and devote as much time to them as possible,” said Gadd.

Gadd will be honored at a retirement celebration on Friday, July 15, at 2 p.m., at the Saint Paul Chong Hasang Parish Center, 1001 FM 2410.