Tim Potts with daughter, Hayley.
OXFORD, Miss. – Tim Potts has finished the Boston Marathon three times.
Prevailing over the grueling 26.2-mile run is a major feat many runners would boast about in casual conversation, but Potts doesn’t. He brushes it off like it’s no big deal, only saying he’d like to run it again one day. The attitude is part of his personality that gives off an overall vibe of a team player – a hard worker, someone who doesn’t seek credit or a bunch of accolades to crow about.
Potts, a 24-year veteran in law enforcement who has been working in a leadership role at Purdue University, will become the University of Mississippi’s next chief of police. He takes over June 15, trading an address in the tiny town of Brookston, Indiana, where he’s lived for most of his life, for Oxford and Ole Miss. It’s a change Potts said he’s excited about.
“I am humbled and honored by my selection to serve as the next director-chief of police for the University of Mississippi Police Department,” Potts said. “I’m looking forward to meeting and working with not only the team at the police department, but with our partners around campus and the Oxford community, especially the students.”
Potts, 50, received his bachelor’s degree from St. Joseph’s College in Renssalaer, Indiana, and is a graduate of the Federal Bureau of Investigation National Academy. He’s also a trained assessor for the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies Inc., and he travels to different police departments to help with their accreditation inspections.
He answered some questions for Inside Ole Miss to help the university community get to know him better. Here’s the interview in its entirety.
IOM: Can you tell me a little about where you’re from – the town you grew up in, what it was like?
Potts: The town I grew up in actually makes Oxford look like a metropolis. Brookston, Indiana, has maybe 1,500 people. It’s definitely a rural-type community. It’s farm-based. (Farming) is probably the economic choice for the majority of people in the entire county. It’s about 15 miles from Lafayette, which is the area close to Purdue University. That’s where I really have lived my entire life. I’ve varied around there a little bit, but most of my life has been in Brookston.
IOM: Tell me about how you got your start in law enforcement.
Potts: Probably like a lot of people, I took a test in high school and I scored pretty high on interest in law enforcement, education and social service work. I always knew that it was something that I wanted to get into and had the opportunity after graduating college to get involved in law enforcement and I have been in the profession for nearly 25 years now.
IOM: Was there a moment in time when you decided that working in public safety on a college campus was the job for you? Could you talk about that?
Potts: Sure. I started off my career as a patrol officer with the city of West Lafayette. The city of West Lafayette is much like Oxford. It neighbors Purdue University. From the beginning of my career, I’d always worked with students and had been around the campus environment. Campus law enforcement is different. You’ll hear that from all the campus officers. They all understand it. It’s different than working at a municipality or a county, sheriff’s agency, just by the amount of time that you put into your call. You spend a little extra time with the people and give them the customer service and develop relationships. That’s what I enjoyed when I was with the city of West Lafayette. I had friends that were on the Purdue police department and I knew that it would be a good fit for me. The opportunity arose and I jumped at it and have been here for, you know, nearly 18 years now.
IOM: What is it about Ole Miss that made you decide to move all the way from Indiana to Oxford? What was the draw?
Potts: I think there’s a couple reasons there. When you look at the personal side of it, obviously the city, the university, the campus setting – all of that – it’s a beautiful area. It’s a type of university that I’m somewhat familiar with, being at a larger, public institution. There’s also the size of the police department, but what really appealed to me was just the size of the overall community and the low crime statistics. Not only was the campus appealing, but Oxford, all of that made it very appealing. I researched the university coming in as an employee or just as anyone or any parent would research the institution if they were sending their child there. I had just been impressed with everyone that I’ve spoken to at Ole Miss throughout the process. I’m just very, very excited. And obviously, you know professionally, some people want to be police officers and work the roads their entire career. Then you’ll have others that will want to progress up through the ranks. When I started my career, I thought I was the one who was just going to work the streets and do it my entire career. I thought that’s what I wanted to do and then when I started work in the campus law enforcement setting, I became interested in being promoted. I’ve risen through the ranks. Now this is obviously a great challenge for me. I look at it as the next step in my career. I’m just thrilled at the opportunity.
IOM: Not to put you on the spot or make you feel like you need to brag about yourself, but what do you think you bring to the table as police chief?
Potts: I’m just a team player. I really believe that. I’m just a part of the department and I certainly understand that somebody will have to stand up and be that face of the department at times and I certainly accept that. I think what I would probably pride myself on throughout my career is that I’ve always been one that has never just tried to grab the spotlight myself because I’ve known that all of the accomplishments that I’ve achieved throughout my career, I didn’t do alone. I certainly would not be in the position that I am now if it was not for all the people that have mentored me throughout my career. So, I just consider myself very fortunate and lucky to be in this situation. I will strive every day to make sure that I earn that position.
IOM: Could you share some of your vision for UPD? What are your goals for UPD as a department?
Potts: First and foremost, I need to just listen. I need to listen to our community. I need to listen to the officers. I’m not going to come in with a bunch of changes for the sake of change. I firmly believe in being a visible presence in our community. I don’t want people to be alarmed or think that something is wrong when they see a police officer around. It should just be natural for them to see an officer out walking around campus or walking through a building or just talking to people as they’re walking through the Grove. I’m a huge proponent of being involved in the community, not only on campus, but also in Oxford. We need to be good neighbors, and that goes for the entire department. We need to be good citizens and represent the department professionally, both on and off duty. I’m big on accountability, and that accountability starts with me and will go down throughout the entire department. I think I’ve been able to build consensus. When I’ve worked, I’ve never tried to come in and pound my fist and tell people that they’re going to do it my way. I’m not afraid to admit that I’m not the smartest person in the room. I’m always willing to listen to discussions and change my mind based on the information that I hear. So, that’s just a little bit of it. Hope that helps.
IOM: Could you talk about some of the more high-profile incidents you’ve been involved in during your law enforcement career?
Potts: I’ve been involved in the investigation of a plane crash. I’ve been involved in investigating homicides, double homicides and shootings that have taken place on campus. There were domestic situations. (I’ve been) everything from the investigating officer to a crime scene technician to the person in charge of running incident command for large incidents. I know it’s certainly an interest to the people at the university, but I’ve also directed large-scale events like Big Ten football and other large-scale events that have taken place on campus. I’ve dealt with visiting dignitaries and presidential candidates who have come to visit. I understand the security and arranging for security for dignitaries and high-profile visitors.
IOM: Are there any cases that you’ve worked on that still haunt you, and would you talk about them?
Potts: I don’t know that I would say “haunt,” but certainly when you see the violence or different violent crimes that have taken place, that always sticks with you. There was a suicide of a juvenile that I dealt with and worked with the family as they learned of what had taken place. It’s also investigating a double homicide and putting the case together for the prosecutor’s office so they could successfully prosecute the person that that was responsible for the crimes. Even recently, just in 2014, we had a shooting on Purdue’s campus. There’s just senseless violence. Anytime you see anyone lose their life or be seriously injured for no reason, no apparent reason, it will stick with you. But, you know that’s why we do our job. We do our job so that if those situations arise, that we can make sure those that commit those horrendous acts are held accountable.
IOM: Moving away from the professional side of things, tell me a little bit about your hobbies. What do you when you aren’t working?
Potts: I’m a big sports fan, a huge sports fan. The Indianapolis Colts are my favorite NFL team. I’m a Chicago Cubs fan. I’ve always been, for better or for worse. I enjoy NASCAR. I’ve been a Jeff Gordon fan. You know, now that he’s retiring, I don’t know what I’m going to do, but I’ll find somebody else to root for. I also am very active. I enjoy working out. I enjoy running, especially, and riding bikes. I’ve run the Boston Marathon a few times and my goal is to qualify again so I can go back to Boston at least one more time. It’s a lot different now than it was when I last ran it. It’s much larger now than it was, you know, 15 years ago, or maybe even 20 years ago was the last time I ran it.
IOM: How many times did you run the Boston Marathon?
Potts: I ran it three times.
IOM: Did you finish all three times?
Potts: Oh absolutely. Absolutely.
IOM: Anything else? Any other hobbies?
Potts: No, I spend time with my family. You know I’m the parent of a daughter who is actually graduating high school in about a week-and-a-half. As of right now, we just don’t know what her plans may be. Her initial college plans were to attend college in Indiana. We don’t know how this move for me is going to impact her, whether she’s going to decide to come with me down to Mississippi or join me a little bit later. I’ve been a single parent for most of her life. I’ve been able to coach her in cross-country and track. I coached cross-country and track at the high school level. So, I was able to fit that in with my work schedule and it was great. I mean, it was great to be able to watch her. She played basketball this year. I didn’t coach basketball. That wouldn’t be very good. I enjoy watching basketball, but not coaching. I’m very involved.
IOM: What’s her name?
Potts: Her name is Hayley. She’s 18.
IOM: Any other family?
Potts: That’s it. I have a dog, Sophie, a little rat terrier that will be coming with me to Mississippi.
IOM: What’s your timeline for starting your new job here?
Potts: As of right now, it looks like June 15 is going to be my first day on campus. I’m very, very busy before that. My daughter is graduating June 6 and having her open house. I’m also an assessor for CALEA, which is the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies. I’m actually assigned to go travel to another university to conduct an assessment of their police department. That happens after my daughter graduates and then I have about two days to make the move to Mississippi in time for the 15th. I’ll get down there. I’ll make the move. I’ve already got a place to stay. I’m loading up my clothes and I’m heading south.
IOM: Is there anything else you’d like to say to the Ole Miss community?
Potts: I’m just absolutely humbled at the selection. Just this last weekend, I was able to take some time and walk around campus. I went down and visited, and it’s such a beautiful campus. I just sat on the steps of the Lyceum, looking out at the Circle and just contemplating where I’d been and where I’m going. It’s just humbling. To see the people just walking around, enjoying the campus, if that doesn’t give you a shot in the arm. I’m really excited. I will encourage it, if anyone has any good stories about Ole Miss that they want to help me learn about the university, or if they have any information on the police department, or if they have any ideas that they would like to see implemented at the police department, they can certainly contact me. I’m more than willing to listen and to learn anything from anyone. I’m trying to learn as much as I can about the university before I get there.