Rookie Lewisville Police Chief Russ Kerbow risks life in robbery call

by Minnie Payne

"This job requires you to be very open-minded and considerate of all people involved in any situation."

LEWISVILLE — When 23-year-old-rookie policeman Russ Kerbow received a call about 10 p.m., while on patrol duty, that a Lewisville drive-in theatre had been robbed by two armed gunmen, he immediately responded.

“I encountered one of the suspects at an apartment complex near the scene,” he said. “Fortunately the man did not have a gun, but I thought he did, so to protect myself and the surrounding citizens, I drew my gun.”

“I called for a backup officer to come to the area and through interrogation, the suspect admitted that he helped rob the cash box. We arrested him.”

The now 50-year-old Police Chief Kerbow said that if a suspect doesn’t admit to guilt immediately oftentimes physical characteristics, changing their story several times or just simply cracking under pressure will prove them guilty.

“I grew up in a middle-class family in Lewisville,” he said. “My father worked for Associated Grocery in Dallas, and mom was a bookkeeper. Both had high school educations.

“I had a great family environment and was raised to go to church.”

He said he graduated from Lewisville High School in 1974, and entered what was then North Texas State University in 1975.

“I attended North Texas State University for about three semesters and worked fulltime during that period of time,” he said.

Kerbow started work with the Lewisville Police Department as a reserve officer in 1977, working himself up through the ranks. He was named Chief of Police in May 2007.

“The turning point in my life and one of the wisest decisions I ever made was inspired by Don Shanahan, an instructor at the Southwestern Law Enforcement Institute,” he said. “A great many policemen dream of being a chief and Don told me that the only way I would attain that goal was by getting my degree. I returned to UNT and graduated with a Bachelors of Business Administration in 1996.”

Kerbow said that when you reach the rank of lieutenant for the City of Lewisville Police Department, if you have earned it, you’re qualified to attend the FBI’s National Academy in Quantico, Va.

“The school [FBI National Academy] is a combination of strenuous classroom and physical training,” he said. “Probably one of the things that any FBI graduate is most proud of is not their diploma, but the yellow brick trophy that you get for running extra miles.”

Kerbow explained that the yellow brick road is a six-mile obstacle course on the U.S. Marine Base where the academy is located.

“It was pretty exhausting,” he said. “You could walk to the course and run it, or you could take the bus there and run it. I ran there, ran the course, and ran back.”

When Kerbow was promoted to assistant chief, he said that he thought being assigned to the Support Services Bureau would be boring, but it proved to be just the opposite.

“Thinking like an operations person was very beneficial,” he said. “It helps to know what’s going on, and I found it fascinating to come up with ways to be of help to them [support people].”

He said that the thing he likes most about his job is the interaction with employees and people in the community. He dislikes the paperwork involved in managing a department the size of his.

“This job requires you to be very open-minded and considerate of all people involved in any situation, whatever that may be,” he said.

“It has also helped improve my ability to see a bigger picture of the City of Lewisville and the Lewisville Police Department and how we fit into that picture.”

Kerbow has been married to his wife, Becky, for 25 years, and they have two children, James and Jaclyn.

“As a Lewisville native, Russ brings uniqueness to the job of police chief,” said Lewisville City Manager Claude King. “He brings a lot of experience and talent, providing an opportunity for the department to grow internally.

“Russ also brings a good sense of humor, which as a police chief can sometimes help you get over the rough spots. He has the strong support of me, my staff, and the community.”