NEW ALBANY,Miss. (WTVA) -- New Albany Police Chief David Grisham says it's time to step aside and allow someone else to serve as the city's top law enforcment officer.
Grisham, 61, says he feels good about leaving his department in good shape.
"Well, I've been here 32 years. I've served eight terms as police chief here in New Albany. It's been good to me. I 've enjoyed it. The people in New Albany have been good to me. I just felt that it was time to step down and let someone else have an opportunity," he said.
Grisham has been a lawman all of his professional career and was inspired as a high school student.
"We had a career day in high school when I was in the 11th grade. We had an FBI agent who came and talked to us about law enforcement. And, I was real impressed by him. And I decided at that time that I wanted to pursue a career in law enforcement and that's all I've ever done," said Grisham.
He admits it won't be easy to leave behind his professional career.
"These are public jobs. They're not meant to be held forever. They belong to the people. And, I just felt like it was time for me to move on in another direction," he explained.
Grisham says he is pleased that he has left the New Albany Police Deparment in better shape than it was when he started.
"I've always said I had one goal when I started 32 years ago," he continued. "I wanted to try and do the best job I could do. And, I wanted to leave this department in better shape than it was when I arrived. And, I think we've done that. There have been a lot of improvements at the police department. It's probably three times the size it was 30 years ago. We've got a lot of technology and computers we never heard of 30 years ago. So, I feel like it's in a lot better shape than it was when I arrived."
Now, Grisham says it's time to retire to his home and respond to the call of his wife and family.
