Waxahachie asst. police chief takes the helm as Chief Goolsby retires

WAXAHACHIE – Waxahachie Assistant Police Chief Joe Wiser has taken the helm as the city’s new police chief since former Police Chief Wade Goolsby retired last week.

The Waxahachie City Council recently named Wiser as the new police chief as of Oct. 1.

Wiser brings 30 years of experience in the Waxahachie Police Department, and Waxahachie City Manager Michael Scott commented he didn’t look any further than within the department to find Goolsby’s replacement.

Goolsby told the council regarding his replacement, “I’ve got the luxury of knowing who my successor is, and you don’t get to know that very often. And on top of that, I have the luxury of knowing what a quality successor is coming in behind me.”

Wiser commented to the council at the same time, “To say I’m humbled would be a tremendous understatement.”

Goolsby’s retirement date was Sept. 30. He has served 42 years in law enforcement.

He worked in a number of different cities during his career, but at one time said he had never planned to work in law enforcement. He received a bachelor’s degree in architecture and a master’s degree in public administration from UTA.

Goolsby worked a short stint at JCPenney in security, and soon began his law enforcement career working for Arlington PD in 1980.

In 1995 he was hired in Coppell as the assistant chief, in Southlake he served as the police chief from 2005 to 2008, then seven years as deputy chief of police for the Seguin Police Department before finally moving to the Waxahachie Police Department in 2015.