Midlothian Loss is Red Oak Win As CID Sgt. McKinney Makes a Big Change

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Cody McKinney
Cody McKinney. Photo by Rita Cook

Sgt. McKinney Joins Red Oak In Criminal Investigations

RED OAK – Former Midlothian Police Department detective Sergeant Cody McKinney retired in July from his job of 17 years in that city. Several days later he took a new position working under his former Midlothian commander Red Oak Police Chief Garland Wolf.

McKinney was hired as the new Criminal Investigations Sergeant for the Red Oak Police Department. He holds a Master Peace Officer License and several specialty certifications within the law enforcement field.

“We are very fortunate to have Cody with Red Oak PD,” Wolf said. “With his pending retirement I saw an opportunity to acquire a quiet, humble and dedicated professional respected by many in the law enforcement profession for his humility, integrity and abilities. I have known Cody for many years and he is a consummate professional. He exemplifies service and sacrifice and is a bona fide hero having endured extreme sacrifice and turmoil after surviving multiple gunshot wounds serving his community.”

McKinney said he is excited about his new position

“I have a deep respect for Chief Wolf because he knows what he is talking about,” McKinney said. “He worked in SWAT and when he said he was hiring I said I am definitely coming over there.”

McKinney said he has wanted to work with Chief Wolf ever since he left Midlothian PD, but at the time it didn’t work out.

“When I left Midlothian last month I didn’t know I was eligible to retire,” McKinney said. “I just knew it was time for me to go.”

Now, with his taking over CID in Red Oak, he will have three investigators working under him. The detective also brings a plethora of knowledge to his new job.

“Cody has already made significant impacts to our operations in the short time he has been with us and I only foresee him continuing to positively impact our investigative practices and processes,” Chief Wolf added. “He is a strong morally centered leader who is driven to do things correctly and in service to our citizens. I feel lucky and blessed he chose to serve the citizens of Red Oak.”

McKinney’s Law Enforcement Career

McKinney started his law enforcement career as a reserve officer with the Ellis County Sheriff’s Department back when he didn’t get paid and just received credit for his hours worked.

He then worked as a reserve officer in Hutchins before moving on to Glenn Heights.

Starting out in patrol in Glenn Heights, it didn’t take him long to excel.

“I have always been interested in investigations, but everyone starts in patrol,” he said. “I did patrol in Glenn Heights. Then I started the bicycle program because I wanted to get into something other than just patrol in Glenn Heights.”

He was tasked to raise the money for the bike. The city sent him to school while citizens got together and helped him get the bike program started.

He was moved into investigations and it didn’t take him long to excel yet again. When the only other detective in that city was out for a couple of weeks, it left McKinney to handle a stabbing on his first day on the job in CID.

When he arrived at the PD in Midlothian – the city where he is from. He said it was the only place he ever wanted to work – he started in traffic until he was able to get onto a task force and then K9.

Chief Smith Wishes Sgt. McKinney The Best

“I ended up taking over the dog program for about a year and then the shooting happened,” he said referring to the deadly shootout in August of 2006 that left him with severe injuries. “They sold the dog while I was out after the shooting,” he said.

Midlothian Police Chief Carl Smith said of his former Sergeant: “Sgt. McKinney has served the Citizens of Midlothian these past 17 years to the best of his ability. He has the experience, knowledge and capability to be an effective asset to the Red Oak PD’s mission to serve the citizens of Red Oak. I hope that Sgt. McKinney enjoys his new assignment in the City of Red Oak. We certainly wish him the best and thank him for his service to our City. It is my sincere prayer the Sgt. McKinney and his family thrive in this new opportunity.”

Well-known in the Dallas and Ellis County community for his professionalism, McKinney said he has been “very fortunate and I want to pass on some of that.”

“I have a lot to offer,” he said. “I’ve learned and crafted search warrants over the years. I think that will be beneficial here, even bringing in the ability to do cell phone extractions because that is the way of the world – people live on these things.”

The perfect match is between Chief Wolf, who is interested in building up the Red Oak Police Department, and McKinney who can help him do it.