Kirk Giles became Huntsville’s Police chief last November following the retirement of Mark McMurray.

A Huntsville native, Giles has worked for the Huntsville Police Department for 45 years. He began his career as an officer and climbed through the ranks to hold positions of sergeant, lieutenant, captain, deputy chief and executive officer before becoming interim chief.

“It’s been a wonderful career,” Giles said. “I’ve been in this job a lot longer than I anticipated, not that I had a set goal to be out by a certain number of years or age. My love for this community and department is what kept me here.”

His roots as an officer can actually be traced through HPD’s Ranger program, which allows young people ages 16 through 20 to learn about law enforcement.

“I met a sergeant with the department,” Giles said. “He would ask me what I was going to do when I get older and all that kind of stuff. He said, ‘have you ever thought about joining the Rangers?’ “