Marla Jones, Manging Editor
COLLINSVILLE, Ala.-- Andy Brown recently was named the new Collinsville Police Chief, after Rex Leath announced his retirement.
Brown started his law enforcement career in 2009, serving in the reserve unit of the DeKalb County Sheriff's Office (DCSO). He went to the police academy in 2012 and was hired as a part-time officer with the DCSO in 2012. In 2013, Brown was hired as a full-time officer with DCSO.
Brown served on all shifts at the DCSO. He was granted the opportunity to become a Narcotics K9 handler in 2015, which he worked until his K9 retired in 2017.
In 2019, Brown was promoted to Sergeant of Patrol and served in that position until his resignation to accept the Collinsville Chief of Police position.
“I am honored to serve in this capacity as Chief of Police for Collinsville” stated Andy Brown. “ I am also honored to be able to carry on the legacy of my late father-in-law, Gary Bowen, who served as Chief of Police in Collinsville for almost 40 years. I definitely have some big shoes to fill following him and Rex Leath.”
Brown’s father-in-law, Gary Bowen began his law enforcement career at the Collinsville Police Department in 1979. He retired from Collinsville on January 31, 2019, as the longest serving Police Chief in the State of Alabama. Bowen then took a job with the DeKalb County Sheriiff’s Office, serving as the School Resource Officer for Collinsville, until his death in 2021. Rex Leath, served as Bowen’s replacement until announing his retirement eariler this month.
Leath will retire, after 40 years in law enforcement on July 31. Leath began his career as a police officer in Boaz in 1984. He was promoted to Captain before taking a position in Guntersville in 1991 at Guntersville. He served as Captain until leaving to serve in Collinsville in 1997. He has served the citizens of Collinsville for twenty-five years.
“Next to being a husband, father, and grandfather, being a police officer has been one of the greatest honors of my life. To have risen to the rank of Chief of Police, only increased my awe of the men and women in this profession and my appreciation for the people who call Collinsville, Alabama, home” stated Chief Rex Leath.
“I've been fortunate, indeed, but I've always known that wearing the badge of this police department would be but one part of my career. So far, its encompassed all of my adulthood, and now it's time to move on to another opportunity for which I’m grateful. July 31, will be my last day of duty, after which, I’ll have to start figuring out what normal people wear to work” Leath concluded.
