The City of McKinney has announced Chief Greg Conley will retire as Police Chief, effective Sept. 30, and will transition to a new Director of Public Safety position beginning Oct. 1, pending City Council approval in the next budget. 

As the Director of Public Safety, Conley will oversee the McKinney Police and Fire Departments, Office of Emergency Management and help strengthen the city’s strategic policies concerning public safety. 

“As the city continues to experience rapid growth, we need someone who can invest more time and thought in collaborating with our community’s institutions, such as schools, faith-based organizations, and retail and commercial partners, to better protect those who live and work in McKinney,” said Mayor George Fuller. 

Areas of focus for this new role will be to develop more robust public safety policies for collaborating with schools and other institutions in addressing the city’s risks and response to gun violence; integrating emergency management functions to better respond to emergencies at the McKinney National Airport; increasing community engagement on public safety issues throughout the city, as well as increasing coordination for public safety with Collin County for the unincorporated areas of McKinney.

“It has been my distinct honor to serve as Chief of Police for the City of McKinney since April 2015. These past years have been the most challenging and rewarding of my life. We have an excellent Police Department that works in an environment of tremendous support from our City Council and citizens,” said Chief Conley. “I look forward to the new challenges this position will bring and am pleased I will still be closely involved with our excellent Police and Fire Departments.” 

“While we will miss Chief Conley’s leadership of the Police Department, we are glad to have an opportunity to retain his leadership for our team, and we are excited about the role he can serve in integrating and strengthening our overall public safety functions,” said City Manager Paul Grimes.

Assistant Chief Joe Ellenburg will serve as interim Police Chief beginning Oct. 1 while the city conducts a nationwide search for a permanent replacement.