KILGORE, Texas — Kilgore College announced William “Bill” McPherson has been named KC Police Chief and Director of Public Safety and Risk Management.
“He has a wealth of experience and a deep level of knowledge in all areas of policing,” said Dr. Staci Martin, VP of student services. “Kilgore College is fortunate to hire someone who has this level of experience in law enforcement, including a long tenure in various supervisory roles.”
McPherson served four years in the United States Air Force before earning a bachelor’s degree in 1990 from The University of New Mexico and a master’s degree in communication from Central Missouri University in 1993.
“I am a firm believer in community service,” McPherson said. “Kilgore College Police Department can only achieve its goal of ‘Protecting the Future of Texas’ by working with the students, staff and surrounding communities to not only improve campus safety initiatives, but to also elevate the overall college campus experience.”
He began his career with the HPD in high-crime districts before being moved to the Narcotics Division in 1999. He spent 10 years working in an undercover capacity, then was promoted to Sargent in 2009 where he worked in dispatch, homicide and internal affairs over the next four years.
In 2013, McPherson was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant and returned to the homicide division where he was in command of the night shift and responsible for the supervision of approximately 20 detectives.
McPherson also supervised the investigation of most of the officer-involved shootings that happened in the Houston jurisdiction. In 2014, he was asked to join the Vice Division where he oversaw the building of a Human Traffic Unit that was considered one of the best in the country.
After attending the Federal Bureau of Investigation National Academy, Class 263 in 2016, McPherson was promoted by the HPD to the rank of Commander. Over the next four years, McPherson ran three different divisions including the Vehicular Crimes Division, the Southeast Patrol Division and the George Bush International Airport Division.
During McPherson’s tenure with the HPD, he was certified in numerous areas as a police instructor, and is currently a TCOLE certified instructor and an FBI-certified firearms instructor. He was a regular instructor in both the Narcotics Division and at the HPD Academy, and also served as an instructor in 2021 for the East Texas Police Academy.
McPherson began his duties at KC on December 10, 2021, taking over for Heath Cariker who retired in December 2021.
