Bay City Tribune

The Bay City Police Department along with family and friends from the community celebrated the promotion of Officer Charles Deloach to the rank of sergeant during a Thursday afternoon ceremony in council chambers at city hall.

This month will mark Deloachs tenth anniversary with the police department and Bay City Police Chief Roger Barker said his depth of experience is one reason he was selected in the competitive promotion process.

"Charlie came in there and knocked our socks off with a very good presentation before the board and then answered questions very well," said Barker.

"(He) has vast years of experience and we were very pleased to select Charlie for this position."

Barker said this process for sergeant promotion was the first time they invited a civilian to sit on the interview panel.

"It was a very good experience to have someone from the outside looking in," said Barker.

According to Barker, having a community member on the interview board is important because sergeants are the first line of communication in the department with citizen complaints.

"We place a lot of responsibility on our sergeants," he said.

"It's easier to replace upper administrators than it is to replace sergeants because they do so much of the day-to-day work."

"If a person has a complaint they go to the sergeants," Barker explained.

He said sergeants are also responsible for the evaluations of all of their patrol officers and for making sure their shift is properly staffed.

Deloach graduated from Bay City High School in 1988 and attended Howard Payne University for one year.

Before returning to Bay City in 1990 due to the illness of his mother, Deloach also studied psychology for one semester at Houston Community College.

He began is law enforcement career as a guard at the Texas Department of Corrections Ramsey 3 Unit where he was employed for nine years.

While working as a guard, he served as a full time reserve officer for the Palacios Police Department and three years for the Matagorda County Sheriff's Office.

He began his career at the Bay City Police Department in 1999; spending his first two years as a patrol officer and the past seven years in the narcotics and investigative divisions.

Deloach's promotion will mean a return to the patrol division as a patrol sergeant.

He is the father of two - Shanquandra, 15, and Jaden, 6.

Deloach is involved in the community as a member of the 272 Gulf Coast Masonic Lodge and the New Hope Baptist Church.

He loves to fish and spend time with his family.

Barker concluded the ceremony by offering a few personal sentiments about Sgt. Deloach.

"From a personal standpoint, over the past two and a half years, it's really been nice getting to know Charlie," he said.

"He's a hard worker; he makes good, sound decisions; and we're very excited about him becoming our new sergeant here at the police department."