CARLA NOAH STUTSMAN
Kevin Rogers knows a little something about Azle.
The 25-plus-year veteran of the Azle Police Department was appointed last week to serve as chief of police by City Manager Amber Beard. Rogers served as interim police chief since May 15, when former Chief Ben Hall retired.
While Rogers aspired to someday lead his department, he told The Azle News by phone the promotion is still sinking in.
“I’m still finding it hard to believe,” he said. “It’s truly an honor to get to lead in a department you grew up in, in a community you grew up in. It’s an extremely humbling experience. I don't think any promotion I've ever had here, or anything I've ever done, has been more of an experience than this — especially to see the true support from everyone.”
Although he was born in Sweetwater, Rogers’ family moved back to its ancestral home of Azle when he was in fourth grade. He attended school at Liberty Elementary, the historic Rock School — now the administration building for the Azle Independent School District — and Azle Junior High before graduating from Azle High School.
His family ties to Azle go back six generations. Rogers’ fourth-great-grandfather on his father’s side was John Jeremiah “Coho” Smith, an early settler in Azle who served as a Texas Ranger in the 1860s and later taught students in Azle’s first log cabin schoolhouse. Smith was called upon to translate for Cynthia Ann Parker, who was kidnapped from Limestone County as a girl by the Comanche and was the mother of Comanche Chief Quanah Parker. Smith’s 1850s-era homestead stood on land that is now the 18th hole at Azle’s Cross Timbers Golf Course, where he dug a well that still exists. Smith’s grave in the Ash Creek Cemetery was honored with the Texas Rangers Cross.
Rogers’ mother’s roots trace back to another early settler, John Giles Reynolds. Ironically, Smith, who was also a furniture maker, built a rocking chair for Reynolds; some of Smith’s furniture is on display in the Azle Historical Museum.
After high school, Rogers worked in construction and volunteered as a firefighter/EMT with the Briar Volunteer Fire Department. Then he attended Tarrant County College’s police academy, working at the Parker County Jail while attending school at night.
He worked for a time at the Hudson Oaks Police Department before accepting a position in Azle in June 2000. Rogers was promoted to the rank of corporal in May 2003; he put on sergeant stripes in August 2004. In January 2018, he attained the rank of lieutenant and served in that capacity until he stepped into the role of interim chief in May.
TOP NOTCH TRAINING
Rogers earned a master's degree in criminology and criminal justice from Texas Christian University in 2023 and also received a certificate from TCU’s Leadership, Executive and Administrative Development program.
“Dr. Kendra Bowen and Dr. Johnny Nhan were instrumental in these two programs, and I am thankful to have been accepted and completed my coursework through TCU, which was a building block for my success in completing the (Federal Bureau of Investigation’s) National Academy,” Rogers told the Azle News at the time.
As the first Azle Police Department officer to attend the prestigious FBI National Academy, Rogers now knows nearly 200 law enforcement officials from around the country and the world he can call on for advice.
He graduated March 15, 2024, from the FBI National Academy’s Session 289. The academy — dedicated to being the world’s premier law enforcement learning and research center as well as an advocate for law enforcement’s best practices worldwide — is operated by the FBI's Training Division on a sprawling, 547-acre campus in Quantico, Virginia.
Because of a brief closure of the academy in 2020 due to COVID-19 and the resulting backlog of applicants, Rogers’ acceptance was delayed almost four years, but he began his training there in January 2024.
“Less than 1% of law enforcement executives are accepted into the academy, so it was truly an honor to be accepted and attend the FBINA,” Rogers said in a 2024 interview.
ROGERS’ PLAYBOOK
Asked what the Azle PD will look like under his direction, Rogers flipped the script, preferring instead to talk about his officers and staff.
“There are a good bunch of officers who work here, from animal control to dispatch, the Criminal Investigations department (CID) and administrative staff to the patrol division. They're all good troops — they all have good qualities,” he said. “Our words to go by are ‘accountability’ and ‘ownership.’ We want to treat everyone as if they were family to give the best service we can.”
Rogers says he feels his role is to coach and mentor officers and personnel, following the transformational leadership style.
“I like to be supportive, and you know, you get the best leadership skills and life lessons from the Bible, so we try to treat everybody with the grace and mercy that we're given. At the end of the day, they're (officers) the ones doing the work. I'm just getting resources and giving support,” he said. “Their families give them to us for a 10-hour, 12-hour day, and we return them home differently because of the things they're exposed to. We want to try to figure out a way to give those families the support and understanding they need to help preserve those relationships at home.”
Although there will be some change, Rogers said it won’t be anything drastic and will be directed to providing better service to the community and balancing the workflow.
“We know leadership has a big role in quality of life, and our mission is to provide the best quality of life to our staff that we can,” he said.
TOP PRIORITY
Rogers’ devotion to the quality of his personnel’s lives begins with his recognition of his own family’s importance in his life.
“I am blessed with an amazing wife and kids who supported my adventures of attaining my master’s degree and attending the FBINA,” Rogers told The Azle News in a 2024 interview. “It takes a special person to be a first responder, but it takes a lot more to be the spouse of a first responder. So ‘thank you’ to all the first responder spouses for your support.”
His wife, DaLania, is the center of his world, followed closely by their children and grandchildren.
Son Dwight is an firefighter/engineer with Parker County Emergency Services District No. 1. Dwight’s wife Jolene is a labor and delivery nurse, and the couple are the parents of Rhett and Ryder, the Rogerses’ 3-year-old twin grandsons.
Daughter Haleigh, a dental assistant, and her husband Fisher, an electrician, are expecting grandchild No. 3 in October.
Daughter Taylor is a teacher in Frisco, while youngest daughter Nicole is currently enrolled in college courses.
In his day-to-day life, it’s Rogers’ faith that keeps him grounded, whether it’s in his family life or his law enforcement career.
“God continues to provide calmness in the chaos and gives me knowledge and strength to achieve the daily tasks I’m given,” he said.
