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 Pittsburg Police Chief Martin A. Pessink
(click on photo to send e-mail) mpessink@pittsburgtexas.com

    Martin Pessink began his tour as Chief of the Pittsburg Police Department in May of 2002 after serving twenty two years with the Waco Police Department.

    Chief Pessink began his law enforcement career with the Waco Police Department in 1980 and served in many different positions during his tenure with that department. he served as a Patrol Officer, Patrol Special Investigator, Property Crimes Detective, SWAT Officer and Sergeant, and Director of the Waco Police Academy.

    Chief Pessink grew up near the community of Noonday in Smith County and attended Tyler schools. He graduated from Tyler Junior College with a degree in Criminal Justice and is a Graduate of the Bill Blackwood Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas.

     Martin has been married since 1980 and has two children and one grandchild. Chief Pessink is a member of Emmanuel Baptist Church, Frank Sexton Masonic Lodge, The Kiwanis Club of Pittsburg, and is the Advisor for Venture Crew 451. Chief Pessink also serves on the Homeland Security and Criminal Justice Committees at the East Texas Council of Governments, is a member of the Advisory Committee for the Northeast Texas Community College Police Academy, a Board member of the 76th and 276th Judicial District Community Justice Council,  and is the Chairman of the Venturing Committee for the NETSEO Trails Boy Scout Council.

Note from the Chief:

 Our Citizens deserve the best people we can find to fill the profession as public servants. Our folks should be properly trained and equipped to meet the demands of 21st Century Law Enforcement and have the capability to develop long term solutions to problems in the community. We should develop a collaborative relationship with our citizens so that both the citizens feel they have input into the operations of their Police Department and the Officers feel like they are truly a part of the community.

 One of my retired Officers admonished all new Officers that when they put on the uniform they were ambassadors of the City of Pittsburg and should always act as such and present a professional image. They were expected to enforce the law fairly and without bias or favor and treat people with courtesy, compassion and respect.  I try to remember to pass this along to the new hires as there is a lot of wisdom in those words.

It would be nice if we could go back to quieter times of another era when a few Officers could handle things, but those days are gone. Today, even though we are a small community, we must address the same problems faced by the larger cities. Drugs and the related property crimes and violence that go along with them, the influence of gangs and organized crime, identity theft and other technology crimes. These are all things our Officers must deal with that were not ever-present 20 or 30 years ago.

Through proactive policing, our Officers have been effective in routing open air drug markets and stemming the flow of drugs through the community, closing down long established crack houses, and the Officers have a solid track record of meeting issues head on rather than taking a reactive response to crime prevention and problem solving.

We are committed to serving the community at the highest standards possible and maintaining an open relationship with those we serve.

For operational summaries and other information from the Chiefs office click one of the links at the top of the page.

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Last modified: 11/28/07