Pflugerville Police Chief Chuck Hooker announced his retirement today. Hooker will be the longest tenured employee in Pflugerville city history when he retires Jan. 6, after serving the city for 34 years. Pflugerville Police Chief Chuck Hooker said that when he began his career more than 30 years ago, officers had only in-car radios. “Once we got away from the car, we couldn’t communicate effectively. Technology has made a dramatic impact on the city of Pflugerville over the years,” Hooker said.[/caption] “It has been my privilege and honor to serve the Citizens of Pflugerville throughout these many years and to have been a small part of the successes of our Police Department and City,” Hooker said in a statement. “It is the men and women who have served with me both past and present who deserve the credit for making our agency one of the finest police departments in Texas. I would like to thank all the city employees, my peers on the city staff, City Manager Brandon Wade and the current and past members of our City Council for their support. It has been my honor to serve with you.” Hooker began with the Pflugerville police department in 1983 as a patrol officer, when the population of Pflugerville was about 3,900, according to the Texas State Historical Association. He has seen a lot of change in more than three decades of service with expansive commercial and residential development, where there were once only fields and farmland, and with that development, a growing population. The once tiny town that so many people drove past on the way to or from Austin, now stands at 53,752 according to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2013 statistics. Population growth in Pflugerville led to a growing police department to support its citizens, and that meant a lot of change during Hooker’s tenure. “Chief Hooker has been instrumental in building the Pflugerville Police Department into a professional law enforcement agency that truly understands the benefit of community policing,” Mayor Jeff Coleman said in the city's statement. “I applaud and am thankful for his service.” Hooker was honored in 2008 and again in 2011 by the Central Texas Crime Prevention Association for agencies in cities of up to 99,999 people. He was honored by the Pflugerville Chamber of Commerce in 2012 with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his many years of service to the community, and in 2014, the Pflugerville Police Department received Recognized Status from the Texas Police Chief Association. The city will honor Hooker Jan. 10 at the scheduled city council meeting.