Fair Oaks Ranch Police Chief Todd Smith can remove the word “interim” from his title as the city makes his appointment official next week.
An Oath of Office Ceremony precedes the annual State Of The City address Jan. 30 at 5:30 p.m. at Spring Creek United Methodist Church, 9200 Dietz Elkhorn Road.
Smith — who has served as interim chief since the August 2024 resignation of his predecessor, Chief Tim Moring — brings with him an exceptional career of leadership, experience, and dedication to community policing, city officials stated in a release last week.
Smith’s career began as a patrol officer in 1995. He rose through the ranks, holding leadership roles in patrol, special operations, internal affairs and community outreach.
He also served as a SWAT team leader and taught courses in Servant Leadership, guiding and supporting his teams toward excellence.
After 25 years of service, Smith retired from the position of assistant chief in the Austin Police Department and soon found his way to Fair Oaks Ranch.
“I am honored and excited to be selected as the next chief of police for the city of Fair Oaks Ranch,” Smith said. “I am looking forward to working with the community and the highly committed staff to make the city of Fair Oaks Ranch the safest city in the country.
“My wife and I look forward to relocating to the area permanently and becoming dedicated members of this amazing community,” he added.
Smith’s initial hiring on Aug. 5 of last year came on the heels of Moring’s Aug. 2 resignation.
Moring’s term was plagued with controversial reassignments, dismissals and lawsuits filed against him and the department.
Moring’s departure came amid a lawsuit filed against the city by a former officer, and a lingering suit filed by a police investigator for actions dating back to 2020.
Former officer Lacey Gonzalez, a six-year Fair Oaks Ranch police officer, was fired in October 2023 after bringing forward a list of complaints against the chief. Moring subsequently was placed on paid administrative leave after Gonzalez filed her internal complaint earlier that summer.
Gonzalez accused the former chief of pointing a loaded firearm at another officer; openly distributing Adderall, a Schedule II prescription drug, to several officers; retaliating against officers who voice objections to the conduct of a specific department supervisor; and influencing officers during the investigation into the chief’s own conduct.
Moring was reinstated as chief in October 2023 after an outside investigation determined the allegations against Moring were unfounded or not sustained.
Gonzalez subsequently was terminated just four days prior to Moring’s reinstatement.
A former investigator filed a wrongful termination suit against the city in 2021, a suit that was settled earlier in 2024, before Moring’s departure.
Ex-investigator Richard Davila filed the suit after a July 2020 incident in which Davila claimed enjoys cooking and Moring and a sergeant entered the property room he supervised and disposed of evidence using an outdated court order, his lawsuit stated.
After the incident, Davila was removed from being in charge of the property room. His investigative work was taken from him as he was reassigned to City Hall before being terminated, his suit alleged.
Davila and the city came to terms on an outof- court cash settlement earlier last year, according to court records.
Under Smith’s leadership, the city hopes the police department will continue to build on a strong foundation of community engagement and public safety.
The Fair Oaks Ranch Police Department has built an enviable record of safety and has been instrumental in Fair Oaks Ranch enjoying consistent recognition as one of the state’s safest cities, the city release states.
Programs such as National Night Out, Trunk or Treat, the Back the Badge 5K, and the Junior Police Academy demonstrate a high level of community involvement.
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