Metro Deputy Chief Paul Conner retires

Deputy Chief Paul Conner, 51, a 27-year veteran of the Metro Police Department, is retiring and will become chief of police in Round Rock, Texas, a city of 52,000 near the state capital of Austin.

"Being police chief has been a professional goal for my entire career," Conner, a Colorado native, said. "I was able to start pursuing that goal once I reached the point where I was eligible for retirement."

He begins his new position Feb. 15.

Conner said he spotted the opening in Round Rock on the Internet.

"The more I read about it the more I thought this was where I would like to be chief of police and make my home," he said.

Conner said the city is in Williamson County, the second-fastest growing county in the nation.

"It's the Silicon Valley of Texas," he said, noting that it was home to several major computer corporations.

Conner said Round Rock, which has a colorful wild-west history, had a population of 2,000 in 1970 and has 52,000 today.

The 133-man police department has one of the highest arrest and conviction rates in Texas, Conner said.

"They are tough on crime."The crime rate is low there. There were no homicides in 1998 and only three in 1997.

"They are very involved in community policing," he said.

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