New chief named in San Felipe

Residents of San Felipe will see two new faces patrolling town. The town council hired Brandal Jackson as the new chief of police and Taye Gillmore as a new police officer.

The council was faced with the task of choosing the town’s new chief from a pool of applicants including the town’s interim police chief Jim Bruinsma, who will stay on as an officer.

“It’s one of the hardest decisions we have had to make as a council,” San Felipe Mayor Bobby Byars said.

The decision was made based on qualifications, according to Alderman Larry Robertson.

“This came down to a battle between qualifications,” he said.

Jackson has been serving as an officer with the Austin County Sheriff’s Department. He has also served as jail supervisor, a corrections officer for both juveniles and adults and a member of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice PACK unit. He attended peace officer academy in Bryan and earned an associate’s degree in criminal justice from Blinn College. He is currently working on a bachelor’s of science in criminal justice at the University of Prairie View and is expecting to graduate this winter.

The council thanked Bruinsma for the job he has done and for his dedication to the safety of residents in the days before and after Hurricane Ike.

“I would like to personally commend Jim Bruinsma for the job he has done,” Byars said. “The job he did during the hurricane was phenomenal.”

Alderman Marvin Morris also thought the decision was a difficult one to make.

“Jim is a good man and a good officer; it was just a very difficult decision to make,” Morris said. “But, we do thank him for the work he’s put in.”

Gillmore, who will serve as an officer in the town, has been employed as an officer in the Brookshire Police Department, where he worked with Bruinsma before the interim chief came to San Felipe.

“He seems to be an honest man and a people person,” Byars said. “I think he’ll be a great asset to the Town of San Felipe.”

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