Chief of Police Christopher Cook - White Settlement Police Department (TX)

Christopher Cook was appointed in 2022 as the Chief of Police for the City of White Settlement, Texas, a suburb of 21,000 residents in Western Tarrant County and nestled in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metropolitan Area, the 5th largest in the U.S., with almost 7 million residents. Prior to that, he served as a Deputy Police Chief for the Arlington, Texas Police Department. White Settlement, known as the gateway to national defense, is home to major defense industries, including Lockheed Martin and the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base-Fort Worth.

The White Settlement Police Department, one of only 186 agencies across Texas out of 2,700, is accredited by the Law Enforcement Agency Best Practices Accreditation Program, the gold standard for recognition, through the Texas Police Chief’s Association. The department, nationally recognized with awards, is a full-service law enforcement agency with 53 team members. In May 2024, Christopher became a published author with The Art of Strategic Communication, a Police Chief’s Guide to Mastering Soundbites, Storytelling, and Community Engagement.

This book culminated a three-year project that started while working as a Deputy Police Chief in Arlington, Texas, including writing and pulling resources together to assist law enforcement leaders and strategic communication advisors. Christopher Cook was appointed in 2023 to the Caruth Police Institute Executive Advisory Board, also appointed as an Associate Advisor to the Advisory Board of the Institute for Law Enforcement Administration and appointed to the Executive Board of the FBI National Command Course Association. He was also elected in 2023 to serve as a member of the Fort Worth Airpower Council, which provides support to military members and families. On December 6, 2023, Chief Cook was appointed to the International Association of Chiefs of Police – Police Professional Standards, Ethics, and Image Committee by IACP President Wade Carpenter.

Christopher Cook began his law enforcement career at the Tarrant County Criminal Justice Training Center in 1995 and eventually worked at the Arlington, Texas Police Department, where he assailed through the ranks and retired as a Deputy
Police Chief in 2022. While in Arlington, he served as the department’s Chief Spokesperson and Chief of Staff as a member of the executive team.

Chief Cook served as the Vice President, President, and Immediate Past President of the National Information Officers Association (NIOA), representing the largest group of government communicators in the world from 2019-2023. Chief Cook was appointed Chair for the Major Cities Chiefs Association (MCCA) – Public Information Officers (PIO) Committee in 2018, representing 78 of the largest police departments in the United States and Canada. He was also elected General Chair for the International Association of Chiefs of Police – PIO Section from 2015-2018. Chief Cook has also served as a Regional Vice Chair for the IACP.

Amazon link to the Art of Strategic Communication
Chief Cook's LinkedIn