There is no shortage of things to say about Trooper Chad Walker. Based on his service record alone, he is a well-trained and experienced officer.
“He did achieve his Master Peace Officer license, which not every officer does. The minimum training hours is 20 years, he obviously did it less than that,” explained Lynn Greenwood, associate professor of criminal justice at Texas A&M University - Central Texas.
Trooper Walker also served at the Groesbeck and Athens Police Departments, as well as the Limestone and Henderson County Sheriff’s Offices during his nearly 18-year career.
According to the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement, Trooper Walker racked up more than 3,300 training and course hours in accident investigations, peace officer training, crisis intervention training and more.
“He had a quite a bit of a variety which, you know, will tend to make you think that an officer is fairly well-rounded, that they have a lot of skills in a lot of different areas,” said Greenwood.
Trooper Walker was also experienced in crisis intervention, negotiations and mental health training. He brought all of his knowledge to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
“You go through their [DPS] academy. Already being a police officer previously, Trooper Walker went through another academy through DPS, which is around 23 weeks long. Then he had to do on-the-job field training just to be a Trooper,” Greenwood explained.
Experts say Trooper Walker’s training makes him versatile and shows he’s willing to step up to meet the needs of his department and his community.
