The following article was published in The Cameron Herald on
July, 5, 2007, and their website is located here.

Cameron Police Chief Leonard Doskocil announces retirement

The City of Cameron will soon do something that hasn't been done in almost 30 years.

Look for a new police chief.

Police Chief Leonard Doskocil, one of Texas' longest tenured chiefs, announced his plans to retire at the end of August.

A 31-year veteran of the Cameron Police Department, he has served 28 years and six months as chief. “It's the only job I've had other than cattle ranching,” he said. “I have been very lucky to have two occupations I really enjoyed.”

A native of Milam County, Doskocil graduated from Yoe High School and has worked with cattle most of his life, something he still enjoys on his family property in Clarkson.

He said Sheriff Carl Black, who served Milam County for 38 years, was his inspiration to consider a career in law enforcement. “I had a great deal of respect for ‘Mr. Black' and to me, he was law enforcement in Milam County,” Doskocil said.

Doskocil joined the Cameron Police Department on July 7, 1976 as a patrolman. “I served two years as a patrolman,” he said, “then eight months as sergeant and then in February of 1979, I became chief of police.” This weekend, he'll mark his 31st anniversary with the CPD.

“Cameron has been very good to me,” Doskocil said. “That's the only way I could have lasted (served) as long as I have.”

His philosophy he shares with new officers under his tutelage is “treat people the way you want to be treated - as long as they'll let you.”

“It's been my experience that if you treat people right, it will almost always be returned to you,” he explained. “I have always been able to have good relationships with people; however, there are always going to be situations when things just don't work out that way.”

When Doskocil started out with the police department, the force included six officers and the chief. At full force, today's CPD includes 10 officers plus the chief and dispatchers.

While murders, robberies and other major cases come with the territory in any size community, Doskocil sites the sexual assault cases of the past three years as the most difficult of his tenure as chief. “We've arrested three different suspects in these crimes over the past three years,” he noted. One of those arrested, Willie Dwayne Whitfield, 39, was sentenced to life in prison by a Milam County jury Tuesday (see related story) and another, Lloyd Anthony Nelson, 18, is under indictment for several cases and awaiting trial.

“It's been hard on the community,” he said.

He also sites the last major case investigation as an example of the success of CPD's cooperative working relationship with the Milam County Sheriff's Department and other law enforcement agencies. “We have always had a good relationship with the Sheriff's Department, with Leroy (Sheriff Leroy Broadus) and Charlie (Sheriff Charlie West),” he said.

Doskocil says he is looking forward to retirement, working with his cattle and spending time with family - that includes four children and six grandchildren, all near by in Central Texas.