City hires Silas to FPD

• City hires Silas to FPD

Fresh out of graduation from the Navarro College Police Academy, Joseph Silas is the newest member of the Fairfield Police Department.

Silas, an eight-year veteran of law enforcement, was hired unanimously by Fairfield City Council during the monthly meeting on May 14. He is excited to be part of the community.

“I was in the process of joining Dallas PD, and I came down and talked to the chief (David Utsey) and liked everything that he had to offer,” Silas said.

“Chief Utsey was very persistent and I liked how he talked.”

Silas is a Mississippi native, who spent his first eight years in the field in his home state. He was at the Jackson Police Department for five years, Natchez Police Department for six months, and Hinds County Sheriff’s Office for three years.

With family ties to Texas, Silas relocated here and attended Navarro College. He had his reasons for choosing Fairfield over Dallas.

“The small-town environment of Fairfield had a lot to do with it as well,” Silas said. “You have great camaraderie in small-town departments, and you can talk to the chief. There are some departments where you may never talk to the chief. Here, you have a oneon one relationship with the chief. That’s what I like.”

Silas comes from a law enforcement family.

His mother works in TSA and has done so for 28 years, his uncle is the chief of the Jackson State University Police Department, one cousin works in investigations for Hinds County Sheriff’s Office, another cousin works for the Mississippi Highway Patrol, another cousin is an investigator for the Madison County (Mississippi) Sheriff’s Office, and another cousin was chief of the Jackson Police Department.