KINGSPORT ‚¬ After six years in command, Kingsport Police Chief Gale Osborne has announced his intent to retire as Chief effective May 17 to assist in caring for his mother.
Osborne was promoted to Chief of Police in April 2007, after serving as interim Chief since November 2006, and 11 years as Deputy Chief prior to his appointment as Interim Chief. In all Osborne has served more than 33 years in the Department, working his way up through the ranks of where he first began as a Patrol Officer in 1980.
Osborne indicated that he continues to place faith and family first in his life, and will enter a new phase in his life by helping care for his mother.
Regarding my work family, I am so grateful for my brothers and sisters in Public Safety that continue to put their lives on the line every day, Osborne said. They do so with a quiet determination to keep each other and our community safe. I am proud of their efforts and professionalism, and I will rest easy knowing that I continue to be protected by them. I hope that I have honored them as well, in my conduct as their Chief of Police.
City Manager John Campbell, who promoted Osborne shortly after becoming City Manager, thanked Osborne for building a smarter, more flexible and better trained police force ready to respond to any emergency at any time.
Gale Osborne is a person of great moral integrity, Campbell said. He kept the best tenets of faith, family and the City of Kingsport at the center of his heart. He promoted several innovations in his tenure as Chief, including a move to paperless reporting that saves countless man hours and dramatically improves efficiency, implemented CompStat to deploy the use of statistical data to forecast and review crime trends in the community, and certainly, helped lead the effort in partnership with the District Attorney General and state legislators to rid our community of the scourge of synthetic drugs.
Other successful efforts during Osbornes tenure include instilling a strong focus on honor and discipline, while developing a greater understanding of the high standards the Kingsport Police Department is held to by the community.
Gale was instrumental in building the leadership core of the Department, promoting many of the key members of the Department that will lead the Department into the future, Campbell said. I deeply appreciate his leadership and all Gale has done for the Department and the City of Kingsport.
In addition to his duties as Chief, Osborne was a voting member on a number of Public Safety boards, including the 800 MHz Radio Oversight Committee, Kingsport Emergency Communications District (911) Board of Directors, 2nd Judicial District Drug Task Force Board of Directors and the Kingsport Beverage Board.
Campbell indicated that he will employ a process similar to the one used to select Chief Osborne to select the next Police Chief. This will include selecting a panel of sitting Chiefs of Police from other communities to assist in narrowing the field of applicants.
In the interim, Deputy Police Chief David Quillin, who oversees Police operations, will serve as Interim Police Chief.