I had never planned to be a police officer. During my time at Wylie High School, I played football, ran track, and found an interest in architecture. I took four years of mechanical drafting and architecture classes in high school, but I found myself developing an interest in psychology and criminology once I graduated from WHS and took classes at Richland College.

I then attended Sam Houston State for a couple of years. On a break from school, I came home and applied to the Dallas Police Department, hoping to find some type of temporary intern program that I could utilize in my studies at Sam Houston. That was the summer of 1987. The DPD hired me at twenty-one years old, but I always knew that I would go back to school. I spent more than thirty years at the DPD. During that time, I did indeed go back to school and received a Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences from Midwestern State University and then a Master of Science in Criminal Justice Leadership and Management from Sam Houston State.

What do you remember most about being a young man serving on the Dallas police force?
I worked in community policing after being a field training officer, then a detective in domestic violence for a year. After that, I became a child abuse detective. This job gave me the greatest satisfaction of my career, other than being able to impact other officers in a positive way. I was promoted to sergeant of the Southeast patrol on evening shifts and then moved to the Public Integrity unit. Our department’s job was to maintain the integrity of the profession. After that, I continued moving up the ranks, eventually serving as Assistant Chief before joining the Richardson PD.

Throughout my years at DPD, my fellow officers and I operated under a team concept even though we worked individually; it was a unified approach to fighting crime and serving. The camaraderie was outstanding and I really liked being able to see that we were making a difference in our community. Not everyone appreciated our efforts, though. One day in my early career, a fellow officer said, “Tittle, you have flowers at the front desk.” The “flower arrangement” was actually a ceramic skull with dead roses in it. Ironically, I considered that gift to be a sign that I was doing something right.

You’ve been Chief of Police at the Richardson Police Department since 2018. To what do you attribute the department’s crime-fighting success?
RPD is allocated 173 sworn officers and we are running at 159 right now. On the crime-fighting side of things, we rely on partnerships across divisions; we share information and we run on all cylinders serving each other. Plus, our organization is designed to work efficiently. We are an intelligenceled community policing hybrid. We gather intelligence by data—numbers, suspect info, video info and community intelligence. We then push out that intelligence in a usable format to our detectives. We look for trends in time of crimes, day of crimes, type of vehicles, restaurant business parking lots and more and then deploy our resources based on that intelligence. Data helps our force make the best decisions.

Is there a particular moment that stands out in your mind when you truly felt you were making a positive difference as a police officer? If so, please share the story with us.
Child abuse convictions provided such a huge sense of accomplishment. And I always tried to be a positive influence on the men and women of the organization. It’s important to be passionate but also humble.

Name three adjectives which best describe you.
Steady, determined and passionate

Can you tell us a little bit about your family?
My wife Lori is retired from the Dallas Police Department. She has two nieces, one of whom is about to be thirty-two. We’ve raised Sarah since she was seven and consider her to be our “daughter.” Sarah’s sister Maddie, a sophomore at UTD, is also family to us. We have a standard poodle named Chief and a shih tzu named Weezy. Lori retired in 2017 and is now a proud babysitter of our first grandchild, a one-and-a-half-year-old who keeps her very busy.

Prior to retirement, Lori had served twenty-eight-plus years. We worked in proximity to one another but were just work acquaintances. Lori worked with a patrol partner named Officer James Fung before becoming a detective who tracked sex offenders and interviewed them at the Dallas Advocacy Center. It was James who played match maker, knowing that Lori and I would hit it off. He was right and we have been married almost twenty-five years.

Visiting with Senior Living Cummunity staff while making Christmas floral deliveries

“Chief Tittle represents the very best of the policing profession and Richardson community. Gary cares deeply about the men and women of the Richardson Police Department, he prioritizes and values partnerships with all of our stakeholders, and he has uncompromising personal integrity and adheres to the highest professional ethical standards in everything he does. It is a great honor to serve with him.”

– Richardson City Manager Don Magner

Did you have a mentor growing up who inspired you? If so, please tell us about him or her.
My parents were both the most influential mentors in my life. Dad modeled a strong work ethic and Mom taught me the importance of having a passion along with compassion.

Off the force, what hobbies or activities do you enjoy most? How do you spend your free time when you aren’t working?
My wife says I am a workaholic and I suppose I am…so I don’t have much time for hobbies. I played soccer for years but now enjoy doing yardwork. On the weekends I piddle around in my flower beds, cut the grass and trim trees. We do love to travel to the US Virgin Islands or Destin, FL, as we are beach people!

What do you hope people will remember about you in years to come?
One…that I cared deeply. For the profession and for the people I served—both men and women in uniform as well as people in the community. And I hope that I have made a difference in the lives of others, both personally and professionally.

Chief Tittle visiting with attendees at the RPD’s Public Safety Expo

Editor’s Note: We asked Richardson police to share ideas with readers regarding school safety. We appreciate their response: