Seriously hurt in wreck, police chief back on duty
Liberty Hill rallies in support of Campbell, who needs aid to walk.
Liberty Hill Police Chief Maverick Campbell is returning to light duty at work this week after he was seriously injured in a car wreck six weeks ago in Austin.
Both Campbell, 41, and his wife, Nancy, 39, were in a minivan when it was rear-ended June 22. They were taken to Dell Seton Medical Center after the crash.
Maverick Campbell said Monday that his wife received less serious injuries than he did. He declined to discuss details of the wreck or their injuries but said he still needs assistance walking.
According to a Texas Department of Transportation crash report, the Campbells were in a 2017 Dodge Caravan stopped at a red light on the southbound frontage road of Interstate 35 at Ben White Boulevard when the driver of a 1997 GMC pickup hit them from behind at 8:48 a.m. The impact forced the Dodge into the back of a tractor-trailer in front of the Campbells, the report said.
The driver of the GMC, 55-yearold Jorge Gutierrez, was charged with following too closely, according to the report.
While Maverick has been recuperating, there have been at least two fundraisers in Liberty Hill for the couple, who have five children.
“Chief Campbell is very wellloved in the community,” said Carl Braun, the managing partner of the Lazy Tree Ranch, where a benefit was held for the Campbells on July 23. “He’s got a beautiful family and is a good Christian man. When something like this happens to a good person, the whole community pulls together
to help.”
A benefit also was held Thursday at the Dahlia Cafe. Brian Johnston, who works at the restaurant his parents own, said Campbell is “a really nice man” who is very involved in the community.
Campbell said he’s used to helping other people, so it’s been “very humbling” to receive help from the fundraisers. “It’s a wonderful experience to be part of this giving community,” he said.
He went to the fundraiser at the Dahlia Cafe and said the most important thing about it “was to be able to see the people there, to spend time with them and their families.”
Mayor Connie Fuller said Campbell is a “wonderful” police chief.
“Since he has been here in the community, there’s been a change in attitude about the police department because he has brought in community policing and the people love him,” she said.
Campbell said he holds an event on the first Thursday of each month when the public is invited to have doughnuts with him.
Officers also are involved in a reading program with children. Campbell said he has made it a requirement that officers need to have at least one conversation during each shift with residents and business owners that is not law enforcement-related.
Campbell, born in West Virginia, was the police chief in Ellsworth, Kan., before taking the job in Liberty Hill in June 2016. He is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force and has worked as a lieutenant in the Geary County sheriff ’s office in Junction City, Kan., and as a police officer in San Diego.