Ken Culbreath, a north Houston native and 23-year veteran of the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office, has been appointed Chief Deputy overseeing the fast growing county north of Houston's 800 sheriff's employees and $70 million budget as the county's first black chief.

"I understand the relevance of my race in this appointment in a Houston suburb that's becoming more and more diverse each day in attracting young professionals and others from every race. But I've worked all my adult life in law enforcement here and want young people to know being prepared to be the best without regard to race is what is important," Culbreath said about the partnership he has with recently elected Sheriff Rand Henderson.

Henderson said, "Chief Culbreath is one of the greatest leaders of men and women I've ever known. His ability to take a vision and convert it to a goal that's then successfully accomplished by a cohesive team is what separates him from all others and why I appointed him as my first appointment. I have the ultimate faith and confidence in his abilities. I'm proud to work with him to secure our community's safety," Henderson said.

Culbreath grew up with his grandparents where he completed M.B. Smiley High School and later earned his BS in criminal justice from the University of Houston Downtown. He is a graduate of the FBI's National Law Enforcement Academy in Quantico, Va. He has earned Texas Commission on Law Enforcement licenses: Master Peace Officer, Instructor Proficiency Certificate and Firearm Instructor. He is a graduate of the Bill Blackwood Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas through Sam Houston State University and has earned the honor of Distinguished Graduate from the Front Sight Firearms Training Institute.

"As I said preparation is what got me here. It's how I'll do my job in commanding law enforcement in this county 90 percent not in the jurisdiction of a police department. Our responsibilities include police patrols in The Woodlands, an increasingly diverse upwardly mobile community just north of Houston," said Culbreath, who added he is married and the father to two daughters and a son, which makes him more committed to public safety.

Culbreath has served at the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office since 1994. He has also graduated from the Houston Police Academy and served at HPD. During his MCSO tenure, he's served as a jail deputy, patrol deputy, undercover narcotics investigator, detective, internal affairs sergeant and detective sergeant. He held a leadership position on the SWAT team for over 15 years. In 2007, he helped Sheriff Tommy Gage create his first full time SWAT Team in which Gage assigned Culbreath to serve as the Sergeant /Team Leader. From there, Gage promoted Culbreath to lieutenant over MCSO's training academy where he worked as training coordinator and recruiting coordinator.

"I helped train more than 2,500 police licensed professionals there and with the sheriff have implemented one of the first online learning management systems for law enforcement in the country," Culbreath said. He added in a county with more than half a million citizens now he is committed to creating the most professional team imaginable that will then attract recruits to his team from every race and region that want to work with the best anywhere in the country.

Culbreath continued he loves his new job because his command "is the most diverse ever, educated and trained that we've had in the Sheriff's Office. Unlike Harris and Fort Bend Counties that are known for being majority-minority, he knows Montgomery remains majority white but is becoming more diverse with each new subdivision being carved into the piney woods area.

Culbreath's election succeeding retiring Sheriff Gage got him this post but it was his late grandmother that was most influential in his life.

"She was my rock. I still regard her that way. She introduced me to Christ, taught me how to treat a lady, to stay on the straight and narrow and finish my college degree. She corrected me as a child and in growing up when I got off the path that got me here today," he said.

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