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When
Jeff Liles was finishing his eligibility at Itawamba Community College in 1987, he was looking for a place to finish his football career and earn a degree. Liles decision to play at Murray State University had a far-reaching impact on his life.
After finishing his playing career and a degree Liles has worked his way up to being the Chief of Police for the City of Murray and is a staple on the Murray State sidelines on game days, as well as at practices, on road trips, in the locker room at half time and after games.
After two years on the team and a degree later, Liles decided to remain Murray and work on his master's degree until a small ad in the newspaper changed the course of his life forever.
"I was at my now wife's house and we were looking at the newspaper when I saw job opening for the City of Murray police department. I said 'well you know, I think I'll try for that position.' There were actually over 100 applicants and they were hiring one individual. The process went on and on, but I was getting further and further and then they ended up hiring me out of over 100 applicants in 1991," said Liles.
From there, Liles worked his way up the ladder in the Murray Police Department, starting as a patrolman eventually moving through the ranks of senior patrolman, sergeant, captain and assistant chief. Then in 2010, after 19 years on the force, Liles was named as Murray's Chief of Police.
"When I was a patrolman, I felt comfortable where I was but there was an opportunity for me to become a sergeant. So then I asked myself, 'do I want to become a sergeant,' then it took a while for me to do that because I was comfortable where I was. I was senior patrolman and I had weekends off, really I had all the great days off. So anytime you try to do something, make the next step, you always have the fear that you will be denied that opportunity."
However, comfort wasn't something Liles was satisfied with and ultimately it was his days as a student-athlete that helped shape his career path.
"You always have to prepare yourself to be better at whatever you do. It's just like in football you always have to prepare and practice in order to be better. So I was able to take what I learned as a student-athlete, the things the coaches instilled in me, the blood, sweat and tears you put out there on that field every day. Then you come back and you put those things in your lifestyle after college and you challenge yourself every day. Life's a challenge all the time and I wanted to prepare myself. So every time a promotion opportunity came around, I said "yes, I'm going to give it my all and I'm not going to let anyone tell me I can't do it.'"
Liles grew up in Florence, Alabama, the product of a single-parent household who was raised by his mother and grandmother. The two had a profound effect on him both then and now and are the driving force behind his positive, hard-working attitude. "They were the two most important people in my life," said Liles. "They have passed away and gone now, but they instilled in me the will to always believe that you can do anything and to be someone who can do anything."
In the decade plus since Liles has become Police Chief, the Murray Police Department has seen unprecedented growth. Since 2010, MPD has added eight officers and has been forced to move buildings, in order to accommodate their ever-growing staff. Under his guidance, the Murray Police Department has become one of the most respected units in the Commonwealth, one he runs like a family and it doesn't take long to see just where his leadership philosophy was developed.
"Football is where it all started for me. I'm taking the things I learned as student-athlete, things I learned at Murray State and I put those same things I learned then into practice today in the field of law enforcement. We have a great relationship with our community, but we are always working at it whether it's 'Coffee With A Cop, the Citizens Police Academy or just having our people be involved in community activities. We are continually trying to engage our community and its citizens and let them know, that we are more than police officers, we are individuals, too. I always tell my folks to talk to people, get out of the car, shake their hands and get to know them on a first name basis."
In addition, to becoming Chief of Police in 2010, something else happened that year. Chris Hatcher came to Murray and one of his first calls was to Liles.
"I was always around, coming to games and practices, but when he got here he came to me and said that where he comes from every coach had an officer that went with team and that is something that always interested me. So he asked me if would ask the mayor if it would be ok for me to travel with them, be on the sidelines."
Law enforcement and football coaches is not a new concept, it's something that has been done for over 60 years and is said to be a practice that was started by a legendary coach of Liles' "other" favorite team, Alabama. While not many people likely took note of Bear Bryant and his state trooper escort, thanks to television and the general expansion of media coverage of football, the site of an officer escorting a coach to the 50-yard line at the end of the game to shake hands with his opponent has just as much a part of football as the coin flip.
However, while Liles believes part of his duties when he travelling is to just be a presence as member of law enforcement, whether it's at a rest stop or if the team breaks down on the side of the road, there is one role he puts above all others.
"I am also out there to build relationships with those young men, some of which, have probably never had a positive relationship with law enforcement before. But time and time again, I can just see the change in those guys from when they first get there until the end of the season. You know, they will start coming over to talk to me 'chief this, chief that', throwing high fives or give me a hug, it doesn't take long for them to really embrace you."
The role of mentor, is probably the one, more than any other, that defines Liles. Whether he's working with student-athlete or a coach or one of his officers, it's obvious to onlookers that he's always cognizant of two things. The role Murray State and his experiences as a student-athlete had in getting him where he is today and the importance of his role as a mentor and a leader whether that's at the station house or the football field.
"I would come home in the summer and work a summer job that wasn't much fun and I always told myself that 'I want more than this, I'm going to get my education' and that's what I try instill in our young men. "Take advantage of Murray State University. You know we all won't go on to make millions of dollars playing football. Get your education, get yourself a job, look where that got me. Make yourself a better person, better than where you started from, better than where you came from.' Coming to Murray State, being a student-athlete, listening to my coaches and professors, listening to our coaches now, listening to Mitch Stewart. I take bits and pieces of all of that and bring it to my job. You never stop learning. That is what is so important and still keeps me motivated today. Just being around those guys gets me fired up and you know I'll go to practice on a Saturday and they will say something and I will take notes, I'll say 'I can use that' even in my profession today. So for me, all of it, my experiences in Murray, it's been great all the way around."