Houston Mayor John Whitmire announced Aug. 2 he has appointed Noe Diaz, a former Texas Ranger and police chief for the city of Katy, as the new chief of police for the Houston Police Department.

What you need to know

Whitmire said his decision was largely based on Diaz's experience and reputation.

"I saw that we needed a police chief with all the credentials that we can depend on," Whitmire said. "I talked to [police] chiefs around the state. I talked to legislators. I talked to local council members; and it all kept leading me back to Noe Diaz."

• Diaz was hired as the police chief in Katy in 2019.
• Before becoming police chief, Diaz worked for the Texas Department of Public Safety as a state trooper assigned to the Katy Highway Patrol Office for 23 years.
• In 2001, he was assigned to the narcotics division of the state police and stationed in Houston.
• He became a Texas Ranger in 2008 and served Rio Grande City and Houston.

According to Diaz's profile on the city of Katy website, he worked for over 10 years on various public corruption investigations, maintains top-secret clearance as a task force officer for the Federal Bureau of Investigations and is a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police.

In their own words

Diaz said he believes the Houston Police Department will benefit from his experience as a trooper, police chief and investigator.

"I am very familiar with every discipline in the police business," he said. "Be it the patrol division ... I know the investigative process ... and the narcotics division. I am intimately involved with every process. The only thing I don't know how to do is fly a helicopter, but I'm going to work on it."

As the new chief, Diaz said he will focus on issues such as recruiting younger officers, dealing with public corruption and enhancing technology within the department.

"My vision it to get back to being a servant, a servant and a leader," he said.

Something to note

Acting Police Chief Larry Satterwhite will serve as the new director of Public Safety and Homeland Security. Satterwhite served as the acting police chief for 3 months after former police chief Troy Finner announced his retirement in May.

Whitmire also replaced former Houston Fire Chief Samuel Peña in July with Thomas Muñoz, the city's coordinator for the Office of Emergency Management.

Whitmire said he expects the new department heads to help turn Houston into one of the best cities in the U.S. in terms of criminal justice and combating crime.

"I want Houstonians to know, and I will be held accountable, that we will have one of the safest big cities in the nation," he said.