New assistant chief known for deep roots in Waco Police Department, community

Longtime officer Jared Wallace knows about every nook and cranny of the Waco Police Department Headquarters building in North Waco.

Wallace, 54, can attribute that to an uninterrupted 33-year career with the department dating to 1991. But his familiarity with the force is not a cause of complacency, he said.

Wallace, who has held the rank of commander since March 2021, was promoted to assistant chief on July 5. He now leads the investigations command and fills the void left by Frank Gentsch, a longtime assistant chief who retired at the end of June.

Police Chief Sheryl Victorian had a “lengthy” hiring process that led to a fierce competition, Wallace said. Wallace added that his 33 years with the department played a big role for Victorian.

“In 33 years you get to see a lot of things, do a lot of different things and create experiences, good or bad, that can help your decision making in the future,” Wallace said. “So, I’m very thankful that I have that in my back pocket and that she (Victorian) recognized that about me.”

Wallace’s journey with the department started when he was just 21, and he was thrown into the deep end right away. Fresh out of field training, he found himself unexpectedly thrust into the thick of action, he said.

“I remember my first call for service … they released some of us (from field training) early — I was one that got released early,” Wallace said. “So, I showed up to work expecting to ride with my field trainer, and I walked into the equipment room, (the) sergeant threw me a set of keys and told me what beat I was in, and (I was like) ‘Wait a second, there’s been a mistake. I’m still in field training.’”

Wallace said his sergeant told him, “‘Not anymore, rook.’ (You’re on) beat 350, get out of here.’”

That first-night baptism by fire on the West Waco beat back in 1991 opened Wallace’s eyes to his new lifelong career, he said.

“(I thought to myself), not only am I a police officer, but I’m the one making all this (happen),” Wallace said. “I don’t have anybody (saying) ‘Hey, you need to do this, you need to think about that.’ … I myself am making decisions about people’s lives.

“And I had that thought, and all of a sudden I heard the dispatcher say ‘350, 350.’ And that second time’s like, ‘Wait a second, 350, that’s the beat I’m in.’ … So, I answered the call. I don’t remember what it was but I just remember looking at that radio, like, this is real. This is really happening.”

It was a dream fulfilled for the Gatesville native, who knew he wanted to be a police officer at age 7. Wallace said former Gatesville Police Chief Carroll Duke was his Little League baseball coach and made the profession appealing.

Wallace has been satisfied to serve in his native Central Texas.

“This is home,” Wallace said. “Waco was a place where (growing up) we went to have a great meal, to go shopping at a mall, to go to Baylor football games and basketball games. And so, I’ve always been connected to Waco.”

Wallace said the Waco Police Department was his first and only choice, as he did not apply anywhere else. Over the next 33 years, he held various roles including patrol officer, housing-bicycle patrol officer, SWAT operator and neighborhood policing officer.

He was promoted to the rank of sergeant in October 1999, where he led units in the neighborhood policing unit, the SAFE unit and the SWAT team. Then, as a commander from March 2021 until now, Wallace led the criminal investigations division and the community services division.

According to the department’s promotional announcement, the community services division “focused on spearheading Waco PD’s efforts to continue to build community trust and legitimacy through relational policing, problem-solving, and community partnerships.”

Wallace said he is fully invested in relational policing, the philosophy Victorian espouses.

“We’re not going to see everything, we’re not going to be there to prevent everything, so when crime occurs we need to make sure that the community is comfortable speaking to us and telling us what’s going on and who’s doing what,” Wallace said.

“That’s the legitimacy that you create by building relationships and treating people well.”

Officer Bryton Johnson said Wallace’s promotion to assistant chief is “a huge win for the department and the Waco community at large.” Johnson pointed to Wallace’s depth of experience with the department.

“He should be an excellent guide for us all going forward,” Johnson said. “What has stood out about Assistant Chief Wallace is his connections with the community. He has all of the traditional police experience, but throughout his career he has always made it a priority to truly engage with our community on personal levels.”

Wallace, who also headed the department’s Crime Free Multi-Housing Program for many years, said he’s seen the good, bad and the ugly of Waco over the last 33 years but that reported crime is “much lower than it has ever been.”

That program was designed to keep drugs and other illegal activity off rental properties through collaboration between police and owners of the properties. The goal of it was to reduce criminal activity in apartment communities.

Wallace said today’s state of the community is a testament to the evolution of the police department in terms of its technology and relational policing practices.

“When I started in 1991 it was a very violent time in United States history as far as policing and communities go,” Wallace said. “Crack was at its highest point, there was a lot of street level gang activity — a lot of violence due to the gang activity and the shootings.

“We’re much better at it (addressing crime) now than we were then. … We have evidence-based practices that we can look at and turn to to help us in our decision making.”

Wallace said he and the department are not satisfied, though, and that they are working tirelessly to keep making Waco a safer place.

Wallace also said he hopes to inspire the next generation the same way he was by Chief Duke in Gatesville.

“I know of people that have told me they got into policing because they rode with me, they spent time with me, but that was as young adults,” Wallace said. “I would love to be that (role model) for a young kid. … And I hope that connects because that’s what got me here and I want to be that for somebody else.”