Changes Coming to DPS Leadership as Two Deputy Directors Announce Retirement

AUSTIN -- Two of the Texas Department of Public Safety's three deputy directors will retire in August, leading to major changes in the agency's leadership team, Director Steve McCraw said Tuesday. Presenting in front of the state's five-person Public Safety Commission, McCraw announced the retirements of deputy directors Robert J. Bodisch Sr. and David Baker. Bodisch, who is also McCraw's chief of staff, is in charge of homeland security. Baker, who has worked for the department for four decades, runs the agency's law enforcement operations. "These are outstanding people with great character and integrity," McCraw told The Dallas Morning News. "It does leave a big hole. Any time we lose individuals like this it's going to impact the organization.""The good news is that although we’ve got exceptional people, when they retire... the bench is very deep at all different levels," he said. McCraw said the department is considering other staffers to fill those roles but was not ready to make a final recommendation to the commission.The departures would leave Skylor Hearn, the deputy director for administration and services, as the sole member of McCraw's three-person leadership team that would remain on staff into the new fiscal year, which begins in September.   Continue reading...